Vietnam’s Communist Party has accepted the resignation of President Vo Van Thuong, the government announced Wednesday, a sign of political turmoil that could hit foreign investors’ confidence in the communist country, which has been courted by both the United States and China for its resources and potential. offers, Reuters reports with reference to News.ro.

At the beginning of this year, a delegation led by the country’s prime minister visited Romania with the aim of deepening bilateral economic ties.

A government statement in Hanoi said President Vo Van Thuong had violated party rules, adding that the “flaws had a negative impact on public opinion, affecting the reputation of the party, the state and himself,” Reuters reported.

The Party Central Committee, Vietnam’s highest governing body led by the Communist Party, approved Thuong’s resignation just a year after his election.

The president has a largely ceremonial role, but is one of four political leadership positions in the Southeast Asian country.

The committee’s meeting preceded an extraordinary session of the Vietnamese parliament scheduled for Thursday, when deputies must confirm the party’s decision.

Internal political struggle?

The government’s statement did not specify the specific charges against Tuong, but the recent major leadership changes in the one-party state have been linked to a large-scale anti-graft campaign dubbed “Burning Furnace”. It is aimed at rooting out widespread corruption, but critics say it is also a tool for internal political battles.

Foreign investors and diplomats have repeatedly blamed the campaign for slowing down decision-making in a country already struggling with a cumbersome bureaucracy.

Thuong, 53, resigned days after Vietnamese police announced the arrest for alleged corruption of the former head of Quang Ngai province in central Vietnam, who served when Thuong was the province’s party chief. Alleged acts of corruption took place ten years ago.

Thuong was also a high-ranking party official in the economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City, which has been rocked by a multibillion-dollar financial scandal that is currently under extensive litigation.

Thuong was believed to be close to former Secretary-General Nguyen Phu Chong, Vietnam’s most powerful figure and the chief architect of the anti-graft campaign.

Last year, when former President Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigned after the party accused him of “violations and improprieties” by officials under his control, lawmakers took a month and a half to appoint Thuong as his successor.

Vietnam and foreign investors

The current political crisis can be resolved by quickly electing a new president, but there is still a risk that repeated top management reshuffles will affect business confidence in a country that is heavily dependent on foreign investment.

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the country’s main exchange, lost nearly 3% in the first hours of trading on Monday after news of the president’s imminent resignation began to spread.

According to brokerage Mirae Asset Securities, net sales by foreign investors in the first two days of the week amounted to about $80 million.

“The removal of Thuong may further slow down political and administrative decisions as officials are more concerned about the direction of the anti-corruption campaign,” said an adviser to foreign corporations based in Vietnam, noting, however, that Vietnam’s position on key policies would not change. .

Investors who generally praise political stability may not take too well to the premature departure of two presidents in about a year.

The latest developments raise questions about the “predictability, reliability and internal functioning of the system” on which investment decisions depend, said Florian Feyerabend, a representative of Germany’s Konrad Adenauer think tank in Vietnam.

At the same time, he noted that “the overall political system of government remains stable,” and Vietnam’s foreign policy, which aims to maintain good relations with both the United States and China, will not change, Reuters reports. (News.ro)