According to Professor Carlyle A. Thayer, University of New South Wales, Australian Defence Force Academy, the legislative body in the next term will have to shoulder a huge workload in the context of a strongly streamlined governance system.
Professor Thayer assessed that the 2021-2026 term of the National Assembly of Vietnam is a particularly vibrant period, with an unprecedentedly large legislative and supervisory volume. The 15th National Assembly has held 10 regular sessions and 9 extraordinary or thematic sessions, in which many sessions focused on resolving personnel issues and adjusting important policies.
Notably, at the 10th session - the last session of the term, the National Assembly passed up to 51 laws, a record number in a legislative session conducted according to a shortened process. This large amount of work reflects efforts to complete the legal framework to meet the requirements of reforming the apparatus and socio-economic development in the new period.
Most of the legislative activities of the National Assembly in the past term focused on institutionalizing resolutions, directives and major orientations of the Party into specific laws. This task became even heavier as Vietnam streamlined the political system and reformed the administrative apparatus on a large scale. One of the notable changes is the reorganization of provincial-level administrative units. By 2025, the number of provinces and cities in Vietnam has decreased to 34, of which 23 provinces were formed after the merger process. Only 11 localities maintained their administrative boundaries.
This merger entails the requirement to restructure the People's Councils in relevant localities. At the same time, new regulations have also been issued, including not allowing local people to hold the position of Chairman of the Provincial People's Council to increase objectivity and supervision efficiency. The supervisory role of the People's Councils has also been significantly expanded.
According to Professor Thayer, the 14th Party Congress set many important development goals for the new period. These goals require the new leadership apparatus of the State to be formed early to quickly implement policies and action programs.
Therefore, holding early elections will help soon consolidate key leadership positions of the State such as the President, the Prime Minister and members of the Government. This also helps ministries, branches and localities have clear orientations to immediately start implementing development programs.
The tasks set for the National Assembly and People's Councils in the next term will be very large. Professor Thayer said that these agencies will have to review, adjust and improve a series of laws, resolutions, directives and current guiding documents to ensure compliance with the new development goals that have been identified.
In addition to domestic tasks, the National Assembly of Vietnam is also expected to play a more active role in promoting international cooperation, especially in the context of a rapidly changing global geopolitical environment.
According to Professor Thayer, the world economy is being greatly affected by geopolitical tensions, new trade policies and energy price fluctuations. These factors can directly affect the supply chain and global trade activities.
In that context, Vietnam needs to maximize the network of bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements that have been signed, including agreements within the ASEAN framework, agreements with the European Union, the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as regional economic cooperation frameworks.
According to Professor Thayer's assessment, maintaining regular dialogue with strategic and comprehensive strategic partners will help Vietnam respond promptly to geopolitical fluctuations and minimize negative impacts on the economy.
