| A socialist country,
Vietnam is under the leadership of the Communist Party, which holds a national
congress every five years to outline the country's future course, and formalise
policies. The 450 member National Assembly - also open to non-party members -
is the supreme organ of state, and the only body with constitutional and legislative
power. The National Assembly elects the President of the State and the Prime Minister. 
The
President has the right to nominate candidates for a number of key positions,
including the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court, and the Procurator-General
of the People's Office of Supervision and Control. The National Assembly then
approves nominees. The Prime Minister, who is charged with the day-to-day handling
of the Government, has the right to nominate and dismiss the members of his cabinet,
though only with the approval of the National Assembly. He also has at his disposal
the power to cancel or suspend decisions or directives issued by the ministries. Curent
policies reflect a flexible, less authoritarian approach. Vietnam is now becoming
a freewheeling and dynamic society. Economy
Recent economic progress in Vietnam has been remarkable, with the country becoming
not only self sufficient, but one of the world's largest exporters of rice. Less
severely affected than its neighbours by the Asian economic crash of 1997, its
1999 growth rate of 4.5% was one of the highest in East Asia. The country has
little external debt, and the World Bank predicts GDP growth could top 7% by 2002.
However, it is still one of the poorest countries in the world The Vietnamese
economy is dominated by agriculture, which employs over 60% of the labour force,
and comprises 40% of total exports. Though rice is the main agricultural product,
the country also produces maize, sweet potato, vegetables, yam and beans. The
fishery sector is also becoming an important source of foreign exchange earnings
and Vietnam is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee. Rich
in natural resources, with most of its reserves relatively untapped, coal is Vietnam's
second most important mineral in terms of export earnings, after petroleum. Vietnam
became an oil-producing nation in 1986. The country also has reserves of manganese
and titanium ore, chromite, bauxite, apatite, tin, copper, zinc, lead, nickel,
graphite, mica and a small quantity of gold. The industrial sector is also an
important contributor to the country's economy, employing about 12% of the labour
force. Manufacturing industries include food processing, textiles and leather,
building materials, packaging, wood processing and paper, engineering and chemicals.
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