Join ministries, cut a deputy PM, Vietnam government hears

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment should be merged, while the same applies to the Ministries of Transport and Construction, the Institute for State Organizational Sciences under the Ministry of Home Affairs told the government.

The proposal was put forward Wednesday for the term of 2021-2026.

Le Anh Tuan, deputy head of the institute, said the merger would reduce the number of ministries and ministerial-level agencies from 22 to 20 and streamline the cabinet.

Many countries with bigger populations and economies employ ministry and ministerial-level agency numbers smaller than Vietnam, including Russia with 21, France with 18, Singapore with 16, the U.S. with 15, and Germany with 14, he noted.

Trieu Van Cuong, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, said reducing the number of ministries would help avoid performance overlap.

It was suggested the number of deputy prime ministers, an intermediate level position, should decrease to ensure the government operates faster and makes timely decisions.

The institute suggested reorganizing the Ministry of Training and Education, making it focus on education only while transferring its "training" function to the Ministry of Science and Technology, which should be renamed Ministry of Science, Technology and Training.

The task of occupational training from the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs would also be transferred to the science ministry by then.

Minister of Home Affairs Le Vinh Tan said in an interview late last year the government would work toward combining several ministries to streamline operations.