Thông tư liên tịch 22/2005/TTLT-BNG-BNV

JOINT-CIRCULAR

PROVIDING GUIDANCE ON FUNCTIONS, TASKS, AUTHORITIES AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF SPECIALIZED AGENCIES THAT ASSIST PEOPLE’S COMMITTEES OF CENTRALL-AFFILIATED PROVINCES, CITIES IN STATE MANAGEMENT OVER FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Pursuant to Decree No 21/2003/ND-CP dated March 10th 2003 of the Government stipulating functions, tasks, authorities and organizational structure of Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
Pursuant to Decree No 45/2003/ND-CP dated May 09th 2003 of the Government stipulating functions, tasks, authorities and organizational structure of Ministry of Home Affairs;
Pursuant to Decree No 171/2004/ND-CP dated September 29th 2004 of the Government stipulating the organizational structure of specialized agencies attached to People’s Committees of centrally-affiliated provinces and cities;
Pursuant to Decisions No 28/2005/QD-TTg dated February 01st 2005 of the Prime Minister promulgating the Regulations on management of foreign affairs of centrally-affiliated provinces and cities;
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs provide guidance on functions, tasks, authorities and organizational structure of specialized agencies that assist people’s committees of centrally-affiliated provinces, cities in state management over foreign affairs as follows:

I. DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

1. Position and functions

1.1. Department of Foreign affairs is a specialized agency that assists people’s committees of centrally-affiliated provinces, cities (hereinafter referred to as provincial people’s committee. It provides consultation to and assists provincial people’s committees in state management over foreign affairs and exercises some tasks and authorities authorized by provincial people’s committees and stipulated by laws;

1.2. Department of Foreign Affairs is under the steering and management of the provincial people’s committee in terms of organization and staffing; under the steering, management and examination of Ministry of Foreign Affairs in terms of professional performance;

1.3. At centrally-affiliated provinces and cities where departments of foreign affairs have not yet been set up according to stipulations of the Government, Offices of the People’s Committees are to assist People’s Committees in state management over foreign affairs.

2. Tasks and authorities:

2.1. To submit long-term and annual plans of foreign affairs; programs and projects under the management field of the department that go in line with socio-economic plans of the localities to provincial people’s committees for approval;

2.2. To assist provincial people’s committees in developing provincial annual plans and programs of foreign affairs that are reported to Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval;

2.3. To submit decisions, directives, documents on decentralization in state management over foreign affairs in the localities to provincial people’s committees for issuance and to be accountable for the contents of these documents;

2.4. To arrange the implementation of normative legal documents relevant to foreign affairs; to arrange the implementation of the approved overall plan of foreign affairs of the province; to disseminate information on fields under the management scope of the Department;

2.5. To organize and manage working groups that come into and go out of Viet Nam;

2.5.1. To assist the provincial people’s Committee in uniformly managing working groups that come into and go out of Viet Nam;

2.5.2. To arrange the reception of international guests that go on working visit to the provincial people’s committee; to organize working group to go on overseas working visit with leaders of the provincial people’s committees; to assist the provincial people’s committees in monitoring, managing overseas-going working groups that are under the management of people’s committees.

2.6. Consular affairs:

2.6.1. To coordinate with relevant departments, committees, agencies to facilitate emigration and immigration of Vietnamese and foreigners in the province;

2.6.2. To coordinate with relevant agencies to treat sensitive and complicated problems arising from consular affairs of the localities; 

2.6.3. To guide and manage individuals and foreign organizations in activities relevant to personal records, assets, movement, business, investment in the localities; to provide guidance so that these activities follow legal stipulations of Viet Nam;

2.7. Foreign affairs with non-government organizations and foreign individuals:

2.7.1. To coordinate with relevant agencies to assist the provincial people’s committee in managing the activities of non-government organizations and foreign individuals at the locality as stipulated by laws;

2.7.2. To accept and implement humanitarian aid projects sponsored by non-government organizations and foreign individuals as stipulated by laws;

2.8. Affairs related to national borders and territory:

2.8.1. To be the standing agency of the provincial people’s committee on national borders and territory; to assist the provincial people’s committee in evaluating the current status of management of national borders and territory; to recommend opinions and appropriate management measures; to join the development of solutions to treat border issues with relevant countries;

2.8.2. To chair and coordinate with responsible agencies to develop projects, plans and conduct unilateral and bilateral surveys as assigned by the provincial people’s committee; to coordinate with relevant agencies in demarcating and planting landmarks as required by the provincial Steering Committee on demarcation and;

2.8.3. To supervise, synthesize and report to the provincial people’s committee and Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the implementation of international agreements on national borders, in-land border management regulations and arising disputes on the mainland and the sea within the province;

2.8.4. To organize training courses, briefing sessions on laws, guidelines and policies of the Party and State on national border and territory; to guide, examine and manage documents, materials, maps and dossiers on border that is under the management scope of the locality;

2.9. Foreign economic affairs:

2.9.1. To assist the provincial people’s committee in developing programs of foreign affairs that work for the economic development of the locality;

2.9.2. To coordinate with relevant agencies as assigned by the provincial people’s committee to select and evaluate international partners doing business and investment at the localities;

2.9.3. To participate in the promotion of trade, tourism and to develop the investment environment that is in line with characteristics of the locality;

2.10. Foreign affairs relevant to Vietnamese overseas:

2.10.1. To assist the provincial people’s committee to research, evaluate the implementation of policies on Vietnamese overseas of the localities in accordance with guidance of Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Committee on Vietnamese overseas);

2.10.2. To coordinate with departments, committees and agencies of the province to support, propagate and to realize policies for Vietnamese overseas and their relatives who have the relationships with the locality;

2.11. To organize conferences, workshops; to sign and realize international agreements:

To assist the provincial people’s committee in uniformly managing activities relevant to organizing conferences, workshops and to signing, realizing international agreements as stipulated by laws; to report and ask for direction of the seniors when arising issues are related to political foreign affairs;

2.12. To coordinate with and create favorable conditions for ministries, committees and agencies to implement international cooperation activities in the province when required;

2.13. To coordinate with departments, committees and agencies in collecting, analyzing and synthesizing information on politics, security, international and regional economy that exert influences on the locality; to recommend orientations and measures to the provincial people’s committees;

2.14. To implement PAR program with objectives and contents approved by the provincial people’s committee;

2.15. To stipulate functions, tasks, authorities of bureaus and service delivery units attached to the department; to manage staffing; to realize salary regimes, treatment, rewarding and punishing policies and regimes for cadres, civil servants that are under the management of the department or as decentralized by the provincial people’s committee; to organize training and retraining courses in foreign affairs for the contingent of cadres, civil servants that are in charge of foreign affairs of the locality; 

2.16. To synthesize, reckon up, periodically and unexpectedly report to the provincial people’s committees and Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the implementation of foreign affair tasks assigned at the locality according to legal stipulations;

2.17. To realize inspection, to treat complaints and accusations, to fight corruption, wrongdoings and treat legal violations in foreign affairs in accordance with the mandate of the department as stipulated by laws;

2.18. To manage assigned budgets and assets and to arrange the delivery of budgets as stipulated by laws and as decentralized by the provincial people’s committee;

2.19. To realize other tasks as stipulated by laws and as assigned by the provincial people’s committee;

3. Organization and staffing:

 3.1. Leaders of the department:

3.1.1. Department of Foreign Affairs has 1 Director and 3 Vice-directors at most. The Director is accountable to the provincial people’s committee and to the laws for the operation of the department.

Vice-director assists the Director to take charge of one or some fields; he is accountable to the director and the laws for the assigned tasks;

3.1.2. Directors, Vice-directors are appointed by the provincial people’s committee in accordance with stipulations of the state on personnel and professional standards that are issued by competent agencies.

The dismiss, rewarding and punishment of directors, vice-directors of the departments are realized according to legal stipulations;

3.2. The organizational structure of the department:

3.2.1. Structure:

 - Office

 - Inspectorate

 - Specialized bureaus

 - Service delivery units;

3.2.2. Specialized bureaus are set up on the basis that they cover all working fields of the department; functions, duties of each bureau must be clear; they must not be overlapping; they must be in line with the nature, characteristics and practical workload of the locality; simplicity in administrative procedures and convenience in treating requests of organizations, citizens have to be ensured;

3.2.3. Each department has no more than 4 specialized bureaus. The number, names of specialized bureaus are submitted by Director of Foreign affairs and Director of Home Affairs to the Chairman of the provincial people’s committee for approval;

3.2.4. Chairmen of the provincial people’s committee decides the establishment of service delivery units of the department on the basis of characteristics, requirements and specific tasks of foreign affairs in the locality and at the proposal of Director of Foreign affairs and Director of Home Affairs;

3.2.5. Director of Foreign affairs specifically decides functions, tasks, and authorities of the Office, Inspectorate, specialized bureaus and service delivery units attached to the department.

3.3. Staff:

3.3.1. The staff of offices, inspectorate, specialized bureaus is state management staff and is decided by Chairman of the provincial people’s committee at the proposal of Director of Foreign Affairs after it has been agreed to by Director of Home Affairs;

3.3.2. Director of Foreign Affairs arranges and employs cadres, civil servants, officials in line with professional standards as stipulated by laws.

II. STATE MANAGEMENT OVER FOREIGN AFFAIRS AT PROVINCES WHERE DEPARTMENTS OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS HAVE NOT YET BEEN SET UP:

1. For provinces that do not have sufficient conditions to set up departments of foreign affairs, bureaus of foreign affairs will be established under the Offices of the provincial people’s committees; the establishment of the bureau of foreign affairs is decided by the Chairman of the provincial people’s committee at the proposal of the head of the Office of the provincial people’s committee and Director of Home Affairs;

2. The bureau of foreign affairs has the function to provide consultation and assist the head of the Office of the Provincial people’s committee to realize foreign affair tasks in the province; pursuant to tasks stipulated at Article 2 – chapter I of this Circular, the head of the office of the Provincial people’s committee stipulates specific tasks, authorities of the bureau of foreign affairs;

3. The bureau of foreign affairs has 1 head and 2 vice-heads. They are appointed by the head of the office of the provincial people’s committee in accordance with legal stipulations on personnel organization and professional standards;

4. The head of the office of the provincial people’s committee is accountable to the provincial people’s committee and the law for the realization of foreign affair task at the locality; the head of the bureau is accountable to the head of the office of the provincial people’s committee and to the law for the realization of assigned tasks;

5. The staff of the bureau of foreign affairs belongs to the state management staff of  the office of the provincial people’s committee. The number of staff of the bureau has to be based on the nature, characteristics and practical workload;

6. The arrangement and employment of cadres, civil servants of the bureau of foreign affairs has to be based on professional standards as stipulated by laws;

III. IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS:

1. This circular takes legal effects 15 days after the date of publication on the gazette and replaces the Joint-Circular No 03 TT/LB dated May 05th 1993 of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Government Committee on Organization and Personnel providing guidance on functions, tasks, authorities and organizational structure of foreign affair agency at centrally-affiliated provinces, cities and Joint Circular No 178 178-TTLB dated 19/10/1994 of the Government Committee on Organization and Personnel and Government Committee on Borders providing guidance on functions, tasks, authorities and organizational structure, conditions and process of establishing organizations in charge of border affairs at centrally-affiliated provinces, cities that have borders or that are coastal ones.

2. Pursuant to this circular, Director of Foreign Affairs (or Head of the office of the provincial people’s committee) coordinates with Director of Home Affairs to submit to the Chairman of the provincial people’s committee the decision of contents, measures to implement the circular and guide the implementation arrangements. During the implementation process any arising problems and obstacles should be reported to Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs for research and treatment./.

Recipients:
Secretariat of Party Central Committee;
The Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers;
Ministries, Ministerial agencies, governmental agencies;
People’s Councils; People’s Committees of centrally-administered provinces, cities;
Office of Party Central Committee and Committees of the Party;
Office of the State President;
Office of the National Assembly;
People’s Supreme Court;
People’s Supreme Organ of Control;
Central agencies of mass organizations;
Departments of Foreign Affairs (or Office of People’s Committees) and Departments of Home Affairs of centrally-affiliated provinces and cities;
The Gazette;
Organizations attached to Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
Filed at Administration, Office (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Filed: Section of Documents and Archives, Department of Organization and Personnel (Ministry of Home Affairs)