Vietnam says ready to ratify UN corruption charter

[Coventina]

Source: Reuters

HANOI, May 29 (Reuters) - Vietnam will soon ratify the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, one of the country's top graft fighters said on Friday, a milestone in tackling an endemic problem that threatens investment and aid.

"It is on the desk of the Prime Minister already," state Inspector General Tran Van Truyen told reporters, adding that it would soon go to President Nguyen Minh Triet for approval.

The document, which Vietnam signed in December 2003, is binding and according to Ran Liao, senior programme coordinator for East and Southeast Asia with Transparency International, would make it criminal for Vietnamese officials to accept bribes from foreign companies or pay bribes overseas.

"It is a very big deal," Liao said on the sidelines of a half-day anti-corruption dialogue in Hanoi between the government and the international donor community.


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSHAN406581

[tj2001]

1. This is a big deal for Vietnam

The country's government is notoriously corrupt. They had to issue a special order to government workers not to ask Intel for bribes. (Intel wouldn't have built anything there if the government hadn't taken such drastic action)