Safety guidelines needed to resume business operations amid COVID-19: Minister

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Ministries, sectors and localities should promptly issue guidelines on the application of conditions to organise safe production in the new situation as well as the implementation of their door-opening plans so that businesses can design their own production plans, said Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung.

The minister gave the suggestion at a conference between the Prime Minister and businesses that was held via videoconference on September 26.

Detail guidance on production in new conditions needed

According to the minister, amid numerous difficulties and challenges facing enterprises due to the fourth wave of COVID-19, along with prolonged lockdowns and social distancing, the Prime Minister has issued many policies and solutions to remove obstacles they encounter in production and business activities.

“As acknowledged by the business community, the implementation of support policies and solutions over the past time has contributed to easing difficulties facing them, helping them maintain and stabilise their production and business operation and create jobs for labourers. However, the business community has also pointed to a number of shortcomings and limitations in the realisation of a number of policies, including the incoherence in the work in some localities, causing difficulties for beneficiaries,” stressed the minister.

Minister Dung suggested that ministries, sectors and localities review and amend conditions, procedures in order to create more favourable conditions for businesses to access the State's support policies and accelerate assistance for enterprises in speeding up digital transformation.

Along with the localities, the Ministry of Health should promptly issue guidelines on carrying out the roadmap to return to the "new normal" and hold socio-economic activities in line with pandemic safety regulations, thus helping businesses to resume their operations in a safe manner.

For its part, the Minstry of Planning and Investment will continue to work hard to remove difficulties and obstacles facing businesses and speed up the progress of projects invested by other ministries, sectors and localities, he stated.

Economic recovery scheme to be issued

Minister Dung pledged that his ministry will soon submit to the Government a sustainable economic recovery programme to 2023, which gives measures to support the recovery of the business sector.

Meanwhile, localities should also promptly design and issue their own economic recovery and reopening plans in the 'new normal', he said, adding that they should talk to businesses on conditions for safe operation amid the pandemic to suit the real situation in each firm, minimising the closure of the entire factory.

Along with economic recovery, localities should pay greater attention to ensuring social welfare, giving timely support to pandemic-hit labourers and policy beneficiaries, while enhancing the capacity of their public health system.

An overview of a conference between the Prime Minister with business community on September 26 (Photo: VNA)

Minister Dung underlined the need for localities to increase dialogue with local firms to seek ways to help them out from current problems and give accurate assessments on the efficiency of their response to opinions of businesses.

He also advised businesses to actively reform their production and business model and restructuring based on digital platforms, while making full use of digital transformation to improve their productivity and competitiveness.

In order to adapt to the "new normal" in a fastest and most effective manner, businesses should pay heed to keeping labourers to staty to work by arranging and restructuring the workforce structure in a proper manner, he said.

He recommended that businesses should make more investment in technology, modernising their equipment, applying new technologies and solutions into production and business activities, thus creating new value standards with more attention to customers inside and outside the country, heading to the engagement in the global value chains.

As the connection point between the business community and management agencies, trade associations should actively give advice to authorities at all levels on building reopening plans for each locality, contributing ideas to economic recovery schemes, and fostering the connectivity among businesses, thus promoting the synergy of the whole nation to overcome the current difficult time./.