Experts of Vietnam and Japan have compared notes on the organisational structure and operations of local administrative agencies at a recent seminar in Hanoi.

The event on July 26-27 was jointly organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) and the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, with support by Japan ’s Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) in Singapore and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam .

Participants also shared information on the roles of local authorities and central government and pinpointed the problems that need to be reformed regarding the management of local authorities.

The MoHA’s Department of Local Administration admitted that the organisation of local administration in Vietnam remains cumbersome, while there are currently no regulations on dividing power between the central and local governments, thus limiting the independent role of local authorities.

The Department said it is necessary to reform the organisation and operation of local authorities in Vietnam along the direction of heightening the role and responsibility of the head of the administrative apparatus while strengthening democracy in people’s committees; improving the quality of the democratic system of representation through the National Assembly and people’s council at all levels and promoting direct democracy.

Participants examined the model of local authorities in Japan and discussed how to build a responsible local administration and creating conditions for people to participate in state management and perform their rights through both representative and direct democracy.

The seminar was also a chance for the two countries’ localities to study possible cooperative ties in the future.