Mr Trong made the statement at the 5^th meeting of Parties to the Memorandum of Understanding on Preventing and Combating Corruption (SEA-PAC) in Hanoi on September 29.

Vietnam is determined to accelerate administrative reform, increase the State management capacity and promote transparency to facilitate business operations, said Mr Trong.

He said Vietnam has made considerable progress in cleaning up corruption in recent years through strengthening its institutions and passing anti-corruption laws. However, he acknowledged that corruption still occurs here and there and said the government has looked at causes and come up with counter-measures.

Vietnam wants to exchange ideas on corruption prevention and control with other countries in regional and international forums, he said.

Mr Trong expressed his belief that SEA-PAC 5 will be an useful forum for anti-corruption agencies in Southeast Asia to share experiences and put forward new cooperation initiatives in the field.

The Vietnamese government will encouraged its Inspectorate that is the incumbent chairman of the SEA-PAC Secretariat for the 2009-2010 period to make active contributions to the Secretariat, said the Deputy PM.

In his report, Tran Van Truyen, Chief Government Inspector, agreed that Vietnam will continue to step up the fight against corruption in the coming years. He said the country has issued the Law on Corruption Prevention and Control, the National Strategy for Corruption Prevention and Control and ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

On the first working day of the meeting, delegates discussed ways to promote SEA-PAC’s role in the region and increase cooperation between SEA-PAC and international organisations. 

The meeting ends on September 30.