Vietnam seeks innovations to escape from middle-income trap

Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Reform and Development Forum 2019 (VRDF 2019) will focus on the reform of market economic institutions and innovations in order to help Vietnam escape from the middle-income trap amidst the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The Vietnam Reform and Development Forum 2019 will touch upon inclusive issues regarding Vietnam’s reform and development. (Photo: VNA)

VRDF 2019 will touch upon inclusive issues regarding the reform and development of Vietnam, with the participation of policy-makers, development partners, experts at home and abroad, and representatives from the private sector. The forum is scheduled to be held annually from now to 2021.

Luu Quang Khanh, head of the Foreign Economic Relations Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, released the information at a press conference ahead of VRDF 2019 on September 13.

The forum creates a venue for policy-makers, experts, reformers and representatives of organisations to discuss matters relating to national reform and development in order to seek both long- and short-term solutions and specific actions to promptly materialise the Government’s relevant policies.

At the press conference (Photo: VNA)

The most important objective of VRDF 2019 is to create a foundation for the building of some documents of the 13^th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, including the 2021-2030 national development strategy and the 2021-2025 socio-economic development plan.

Currently, Vietnam’s economic structure is shifting towards higher growth efficiency and quality, ensuring micro-economic stability and maintaining macro balances. In 2020, Vietnam will complete another ten-year socio-economic development strategy.

The forum, scheduled for September 19, aims to collect opinions of domestic and foreign experts to serve the building of the 2021-2020 socio-economic development strategy and the 2021-2025 socio-economic development plan, which are expected to be submitted to the 11^th plenum of the Party Central Committee (12^th tenure) in October.

Besides, VRDF 2019 will look into the building of the 2021-2025 mid-term public investment plan through proposing priorities and key sectors of reform and development.

Organisers highlighted the inclusiveness of the forum as it will debate issues regarding the reform of market economic institutions and innovations to help Vietnam escape from the middle-income trap in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, along with priorities and actions for a prosperous Vietnam.

The forum’s theme demonstrates efforts of the Government and people towards innovation, startup and higher productivity, as well as the Government’s strong commitments to perfecting market economic institutions and implementing innovations to escape from the middle-income trap and develop rapidly and sustainably, Khanh said.

Addressing the Vietnam Reform and Development Forum held in Hanoi on December 5, 2018, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that Vietnam was lifted from one of the world’s largest recipients of foreign aid to a middle-income country. It has proactively integrated into the global economy and always stands ready to share experience in settling global issues.

However, Vietnam still runs grave risk of being left behind and falling into the “middle-income trap”. Despite concerted efforts to remove the three bottlenecks of mechanism, infrastructure, and human resources quality which bar economic development, the outcomes are a far cry from the Government’s expectations. In fact, they have not yet met the requirements of economic development, the PM underlined.

The VRDF is an alternative to the Vietnam Development Forum (VDF), which was formerly known as the Consultative Group (CG) meeting and more recently the Vietnam Development Partnership Forum (VFPF). The first Vietnamese CG meeting was held in Paris in 1993 and since 1999 it has been held in Vietnam, co-chaired by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the World Bank’s Vietnam branch.

Instead of serving as a platform for discussion between the Vietnamese Government and donor agencies on development policies, the VRDF gathers international experts who come to share their experience and offer recommendations to the Vietnamese Government.

The forum is expected to devise specific proposals for the Government’s reform policies./.