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 inthe past decade, said Professor Vladimir Mazyrin, Director of the Centre forVietnamese and ASEAN studies under the Institute for Far EasternStudies of the Russian Academy of Science.
In a recentinterview with Russia’s Sputnik Network, the professor noted that Vietnam is ina period of stable economic development with GDP growth reaching 6.7 percent,the highest in nearly ten years after the global economic crisis.
He citedstatistics that showed Vietnam’s GDP totaled nearly 220 billion USD, and GDP atPurchasing Power Parity came to nearly 600 billion USD.
According toMazyrin, one of Vietnam’s important economic achievements is improvement ininvestment and business climate, which is reflected in the inflow of investmentcapital reaching 33 billion USD in 2017, an 82.8 percent increase year on year.
The countryalso saw the fastest-ever trade growth, he said, citing the statistics of the GeneralDepartment of Vietnam Customs as showing that the nation’s import-export valueis estimated at 410 billion USD in 2017, with a trade surplus of about threebillion USD.
Mazyrinnoted that while it took Vietnam six years to increase foreign trade turnoverfrom 30 billion USD to 100 billion USD, the country needed only two years toraise the turnover from 100 billion USD to 400 billion USD.
Vietnamfocused on stabilising the macro-economy in 2017, he underlined,adding that the country for the first time in many years, fulfilled all its 13socio-economic targets.
Heattributed the achievement to the sound policies of the country’s leaders,forecasting that the trend will continue for several years.
At the sametime, the Russian expert underlined the challenges facing Vietnam’s economy,suggesting that Vietnam should shift to creative economic models, improve itslabour productivity and modernise its agriculture sector.
He alsohighlighted climate change impacts, saying that Vietnam is among the firstnations suffering from the phenomenon, as a rise of 1-2 m in sea water levelwill submerge the Red River Delta and the Mekong River Delta, forcing a hugenumber of people to leave the regions.-VNA
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