Regulations on information and press activities of foreign organizations in Vietnam

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Bac Son has just signed and issued Circular No. 4/2014/TT-BTTTT detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of Decree No. 88/2012/ND-CP dated October 23, 2012 of the Government on information and press activities of foreign press, foreign representative agencies, and foreign organizations in Vietnam.

Illustration: HNM

The subjects of application of this Circular include units and organizations under the Ministry of Information and Communications, People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, and foreign agencies and organizations in Vietnam.

This Circular provides detailed regulations on Publishing newsletters; Issuing press releases; Re-issuing newsletter publishing licenses; Requesting/notifying press conferences; Publishing documents, leaflets, brochures, maps, calendars, pictures, photos; Publishing audio tapes, audio discs, video tapes, video discs and other information publications; Posting news, articles and statements on Vietnamese mass media; Displaying pictures, photos and other forms of information outside the headquarters of foreign representative agencies and foreign organizations.

Accordingly, foreign agencies and organizations in Vietnam that wish to hold a press conference in Hanoi must submit a request form to the Press Department, Ministry of Information and Communications. If holding a press conference in other localities, they must submit a request form to the provincial People's Committee at least 2 working days before the press conference. Foreign representative agencies that hold a press conference in Hanoi must also submit a request form to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

After 2 days from the date of receipt of the request, if there is no opinion from the competent authority, the press conference is considered approved.

In case foreign agencies and organizations in Vietnam need to publish documents, leaflets, brochures, maps, calendars, pictures, and photos, they should send a request form to the Department of Publishing, Printing and Distribution, Ministry of Information and Communications. In case of need to publish audio tapes, audio discs, video tapes, video discs with content replacing books or illustrating books, they should also send a request to the Department of Publishing, Printing and Distribution, and also send it to the Department of External Information for notification. For foreign representative agencies, the request form should also be sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for notification.

This Circular takes effect from May 5, 2014.

According to ICTPress