Vietnam’s development on the right track: Prime Minister

Illustrative photo (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called on ministries, sectors and localities to look back and seek strong measures to realise economic development targets.

The Government leader made the call at a national teleconference between the Government and localities in Hanoi on December 28.

Biggest-ever belief

PM Phuc said although in 2016 Vietnam suffered its worst drought in nearly a century, and the effects were devastating, exports of the agricultural sector hit an all-time high of more than 40 billion USD in 2018.

[Infographic] GDP reaches 7.08 percent in 2018, the highest level over the past decade

The Vietnamese economy reached a growth rate of 7.08 percent in 2018, the highest level since 2008.

“We enjoyed a trade surplus of over 7 billion USD in 2018, tripling the amount of 2.1 billion USD recorded in the previous year,” PM Phuc said.

The domestic sector has come into notice as its export growth, standing at 17 percent, is higher than that of the foreign direct investment (FDI) sector (14 percent), he said, describing it as significant amid the escalating US-China trade war.

Vietnam is among the fastest-growing economies in Asia while its growth quality has seen substantial improvements, PM Phuc said, citing the decrease in mining and expansion in processing and manufacturing as good examples.

The Government leader stressed “Never before have we seen such a strong private sector like we have in recent two years. There were 130,000 newly-established firms and 34,000 others resuming their operations.”

Once, there was growing concern over national fiscal collapse. However, things have changed with budget collection outstripping estimates, foreign exchange reserves setting records, and bad debt falling considerably.

PM Phuc also mentioned various major cases of corruption which have been brought to light, and highlighted outstanding achievements in culture and sports as well as in healthcare.

“The people’s trust in the Party’s leadership and our determination in dealing with major issues of the country, from the fight against corruption to matters related to the environment, agriculture, rural areas, mountainous areas and ethnic minority groups are the greatest and most profound than before,” he stressed.

Re-evaluating potential of all sectors

On the other hand, PM Phuc stressed the need to re-evaluate development progress since the government began its new term and seek measures to remove bottlenecks for the country’s development. He also ordered the faster building of rational mechanisms and policies.

Regarding the business climate, PM Phuc pointed out several indicators that lagged behind like settlement of bankruptcy and protection of investors. To that end, he called for suitable power supervision mechanisms to handle existing shortcomings.

He reiterated the Government’s stance to develop the economy in a fast and sustainable manner, saying the Government does not barter growth quality for growth pace. Besides, the Government is consistent with its three-in-one principle: economy, society and environment.

Touching on the growth motivation, PM Phuc said it should come from the application of new technologies and diversified tourism activities like sea tourism, heritage tourism and waterway tourism, among others.

The growth model must rely on labour productivity and digital industry, he said, underlining “besides hard infrastructures, we should apply technological achievements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to better labour productivity”.

The PM ordered the re-evaluation of the real potential of all key economic sectors in a bid to create new momentum for the country’s economic growth.

“We are not allowed to sleep on a bed of laurel leaves as we have formidable challenges ahead”, he stated while highlighting the core mission of the Government, which is to ensure no one is left behind.-VNA