Vietnamese policy-makers met on July 9 to take stock of the impact of the global financial crisis on the national economy and come up with strategies for the post-crisis revival.

Entitled “Towards solutions to boost socio-economic development after the world financial crisis,” the workshop was attended by officials of the Government Office, the Party Central Committee, the National Assembly, the office of the President of Vietnam together with local and foreign economists.

There are signs indicating that the world economic recession has “touched bottom” and is on the way back up, yet the recovery will be a step-by-step process and it will take time, said Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan.

Policy makers in Vietnam should place their focus on promoting exports through incentive schemes relating to taxes, interest rates and foreign exchange, Khoan said.

Streamlining customs procedures and improving the national infrastructure should also receive due attention if the national economy is to pick up, he added.

Meanwhile, a representative for the local business community called on enterprises to make a more comprehensive study of targeted goods and markets for export, as large importers will restructure their investment capital after the crisis has past.

“Aside from expanding its export markets, local enterprises must cooperate with each other to ensure a strong foothold in the domestic market, particularly rural areas,” Pham Gia Tuc, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

Dinh Van An, Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM). meanwhile said the financial crisis revealed weaknesses in Vietnam’s development growth model, which depends too heavily on exports and the state budget.

Foreign economists suggested the government’s state budget plan should focus on support for sustainable growth, social welfare and poverty reduction.

They said greater state assistance should be given to small- and medium-sized enterprises in terms of preferential interest rates on loans and guarantees, and tax deferments in order to boost production. The government should reduce the Value Added Tax (VAT) imposed on certain groups of goods to improve domestic consumption, and it should also invest more in the social welfare network to protect vulnerable groups of people that have been hardest hit by the crisis, they said./.