Professor Vladimir Mazyrin, Director of the Centre for Vietnamese and ASEAN studies under the Institute for Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Science. (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – 2017 is the most successful year of Vietnam’s economy in the past decade, said Professor Vladimir Mazyrin, Director of the Centre for Vietnamese and ASEAN studies under the Institute for Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Science.
In a recent interview with Russia’s Sputnik Network, the professor noted that Vietnam is in a period of stable economic development with GDP growth reaching 6.7 percent, the highest in nearly ten years after the global economic crisis.
He cited statistics that showed Vietnam’s GDP totaled nearly 220 billion USD, and GDP at Purchasing Power Parity came to nearly 600 billion USD.
According to Mazyrin, one of Vietnam’s important economic achievements is improvement in investment and business climate, which is reflected in the inflow of investment capital reaching 33 billion USD in 2017, an 82.8 percent increase year on year.
The country also saw the fastest-ever trade growth, he said, citing the statistics of the General Department of Vietnam Customs as showing that the nation’s import-export value is estimated at 410 billion USD in 2017, with a trade surplus of about three billion USD.
Mazyrin noted that while it took Vietnam six years to increase foreign trade turnover from 30 billion USD to 100 billion USD, the country needed only two years to raise the turnover from 100 billion USD to 400 billion USD.
Vietnam focused on stabilising the macro-economy in 2017, he underlined, adding that the country for the first time in many years, fulfilled all its 13 socio-economic targets.
He attributed the achievement to the sound policies of the country’s leaders, forecasting that the trend will continue for several years.
At the same time, the Russian expert underlined the challenges facing Vietnam’s economy, suggesting that Vietnam should shift to creative economic models, improve its labour productivity and modernise its agriculture sector.
He also highlighted climate change impacts, saying that Vietnam is among the first nations suffering from the phenomenon, as a rise of 1-2 m in sea water level will submerge the Red River Delta and the Mekong River Delta, forcing a huge number of people to leave the regions.-VNA
VNA
