Over the past few years, one of the ways in which Vietnam has improved its business environment has been by implementing different versions of Resolution 19 annually. Resolution 19 is a set of policy goals for Vietnamese ministries to improve the business and investment environment. On May 15, the Vietnamese government issued the fifth version of Resolution 19, which focuses on further improving Vietnam’s ranking on the World Bank’s Doing Business report. The Resolution also calls for simplifying 50 percent of requirements for businesses and reducing the number of imports and exports subject to multi-ministry inspections by 50 percent.

So What? Since 2014, USAID’s Governance for Inclusive Growth activity has provided technical assistance to support Vietnam’s implementation of Resolution 19, contributing to improvements in the country’s business environment and helped it move from 91st to 68th place in the World Bank’s Doing Business report in the past two years. This will lead to substantial increases in investment and trade and will help reach Vietnam reach its long term economic growth objectives.