Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung ordered relevant ministries, sectors and localities to continue taking practical moves to implement the Government’s resolution on constraining inflation after initial positive outcomes were achieved.

PM Dung chaired a cabinet meeting in Hanoi on March 15 to receive how the Government’s resolution No. 11/NQ-CP on major solutions to rein in inflation, stabilise the macro-economy and ensure social welfare has been carried out since it was made public on February 24, 2011.

He pointed out that the situation in the world was complicated in the first quarter of the year and Vietnam would meet with further complexities on its course so it required all ministries, sectors and localities to make all-out efforts to avert difficulties and challenges.

The Government asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to work with other ministries and localities to fully tap the country’s agricultural advantages, to drastically boost exports in the wake of the soaring prices of food and foodstuff in the world market so as to reduce the trade deficit.

PM Dung required the ministries, sectors and localities to stringently control public investment, cease unnecessary expenditures, and exercise economical moves in the use of electricity.

The ministries, sectors and localities need to continue managing prices on the market to prevent speculation and shortages of commodities, especially essential ones, according to the PM.

They also need to focus on publicising information on the Government’s financial, monetary, and bank interest rate policies to help the people gain correct and thorough understanding of what the Government has done.

Twenty days after being put into practice, resolution No. 11 brought initial positive effects to the national economy, prominent being a 29.7 percent rise in export value (18.8 billion USD) in the first quarter of this year, which tripled the goal approved by the National Assembly.

The monetary market was also stable with lendings increasing 3.41 percent.

The majority of the cabinet members agreed that interest rates and gold prices on the market were more stable after the State Bank of Vietnam announced measures relating to the interest rate, exchange rate and gold trading.

However, they said they were concerned about uneven macroeconomic performance, high lending interest rates and fluctuating prices, as they have affected production and the people’s life.

They proposed ministries, sectors and localities should adopt specific action plans to interpret resolution 11, proactively dealing with issues arising within areas of their competence or immediately referring them to the Government for handling these matters promptly./.