At an apparel company in Ha Tinh province (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The newswire aseantoday.com hassaid amidglobal and regional crises sparked by COVID-19, natural disasters and geopoliticalchanges, Vietnam has continued to show marked successes in the fight against thepandemic and in economic growth, mainly due to strong political will anddrastic measures by the Government and citizens.
In an articlepublished on January 21, the author said the country’s upcoming change in leadership, after the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party ofVietnam (CPV), will bring further new developments.
Since the outbreak ofCOVID-19, Vietnam has become a bright spot, a model for successfully containingthe pandemic. As the global crisis stretches into its second year, Vietnamcontinues efforts to research, produce and conduct clinical trials for COVID-19vaccines.
Vietnam saw multilateraldiplomacy milestones last year, including through its role as ASEAN Chair for2020, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021, andChair of the 41st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-ParliamentaryAssembly (AIPA 41).
On the economic front,Vietnam achieved a growth rate of 2.91 percent last year and actively pushed newfree trade agreements, including the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).
Additionally, Vietnamhas also shown progress in technology and education through the pandemic.In 2020, Vietnam made advancements in developing 5G networks, using equipmentmanufactured by local industry and telecoms group Viettel. Meanwhile, thecountry saw students succeed in global academic competitions despite theimpacts of the pandemic.
On the digital front,Vietnam accelerated a national digital transformation that has already changedmuch of the country’s public administration. In June 2020, PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved a National Digital Transformation Program,to be implemented by 2025, to develop the economy based on digital technologies.
The article quoted Prof. Carl Thayer from the University of New South Wales in Australia as saying that Vietnam’s response to the pandemic has increased its standingregionally and globally.
Other analysts alsopointed to Vietnam’s recent role on the UN Security Council, including itssupport for expanding coordination between ASEAN, the UN Security Council andother UN bodies, as well as pushing for global adherence to international lawand the UN Charter.
The CPV is set toconvene its 13th National Congress from January 25 to February 2. Withthe country coming off of a strong year in 2020, the country’s nextadministration will likely continue to steer the country towards its socio-economicdevelopment targets as well as multilateral goals around peace, security andprosperity in the region and globally, the article said./.
