Vietnam's top legislator Nguyen Van An has said that the country should elect a new prime minister, state president, chairman of the National Assembly, and three ministers in mid-2006, before the APEC summit, local newspaper Pioneer reported Thursday.

"During the 9th session of the 11th National Assembly, due to open on May 16, three key posts (prime minister, state president, chairman of the highest legislative body), and ministers of foreign affairs, trade and defense should be elected," the newspaper quoted An, incumbent chairman of the National Assembly, as saying.

Vietnam will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November, so it needs to have new top leaders to sign relevant documents and direct their implementation, he said, explaining that if old incumbent leaders inked the documents, and then retire right after the signing, not direct the implementation by themselves, it would be "not good."

He said he would like to retire soon, although the 11th tenure of the National Assembly will not finish until late 2007.

According to the law, the incumbent chairman of the National Assembly will introduce candidates for the post of state president to the assembly, An said, noting that the incumbent state president will introduce candidates for the post of prime minister to the assembly.

Vietnam is hosting a wide range of APEC events this year, including the 14th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (APEC summit) slated for Nov.18-19. The theme of APEC 2006 has been defined as " Towards a Dynamic Community for Sustainable Development and Prosperity."

Source: Xinhua