Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh speaks at the event on May 24, 2019, in Hanoi.

In an announcement by the Government Steering Committee for Administrative Reform at a conference in Hanoi on Friday, the index showed a 6% increase over last year. In the provincial category, Quang Ninh continued to lead the index with over 89 percent. The provincial People’s Committee Deputy Chairman, Dang Duy Hau, attributed the improvement to local administrative reform efforts.

“Administrative reform has been our priority with information technology application in 4 levels. Online meetings have been held in all communes with 200 entries. Administrative procedures in reception of documents, evaluation, approval and return are available one-stop,” said Mr. Hau.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh, who is also head of the committee, lauded ministries, agencies and localities for improving business climate and labour output, towards achieving the level of ASEAN 4 countries in terms of competitiveness and business environment.

“Ministries and provinces should review and simplify administrative procedures further. Effective models in administrative reform should be duplicated to improve the quality of policymaking, uphold the role of the Government’s Advisory Council for Administrative Procedure Reform in enhancing dialogues with the business community and units concerned to promptly remove their difficulties while regularly improving online public services at level 3 and 4,” said Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh.