Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh stressed the needfor Vietnam to boost potential and strong fields to motivate socio-economicdevelopment, improve the business and investment environment and nationalcompetitiveness.

Binh made the statement while delivering areport on supplementary assessment of socio-economic development results in2017 and the first months of 2018 as well as key tasks and solutions for the comingtimes at the 14th-tenure National Assembly’s fifth session, whichkicked off in Hanoi on May 21.

He said that the Government’s managementwork will follow the orientations of building on achievements gained from thebeginning of this tenure, especially in 2017 and the first months of 2018,pressing ahead with the drastic and synchronous implementation of tasks andmeasures set in the Party, National Assembly and Government’s resolutions, andavoiding subjectivity in steering and administration.

The Government will keep a close watch on thedomestic and international situations in order to make suitable and timelyreactions, while paying attention to addressing newly emerging issues, tacklingexisting shortcomings and weaknesses, and making efforts to fulfil all targetsset for 2018 in order to facilitate sustainable development in the followingyears, thus contributing to the successful implementation of the five-year planfrom 2016-2020.

To stabilise the macro-economy, controlinflation and boost economic growth, the official emphasised that theGovernment will maintain the effective and synchronous implementation ofmonetary and financial policies.

Efforts will be exerted to control theaverage consumer price index increase of around 4 percent, achieve a grossdomestic product (GDP) growth of over 6.7 percent, and reduce interest rates,especially in priority fields, he stated.

He also stressed the importance ofstabilising the foreign currency market, raising the State’s foreign exchangereserves, controlling the credit scale at a reasonable level, and strictlymonitoring highly risky fields.

Predicting both opportunities andchallenges for Vietnam brought by the regional and world situation, the DeputyPM said that the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-PacificPartnership (CPTPP) will generate positive effects, while many internationalorganisations forecast the Vietnamese economy will continue growing well.

However, he noted that the country’s labourproductivity and competitiveness remain low, with a lack of high-quality humanresources. Production technologies and administration capacity in many sectorsand enterprises are out-of-date, and State management efficiency is still low.

Demands for investment in infrastructure,social welfare, environmental protection, climate change response, and defenceand security remain huge, while the domestic resources are limited, Binhstated, adding that natural disasters are forecast to develop complicatedly,affecting production and lives of people.

Comparing the final outcomes of socio-economicdevelopment in 2017 with preliminary results mentioned in a Government reportin the legislature’s fourth session, Binh said that seven out of 13 criteriasaw improvement. Notably, GDP growth rate reached 6.81 percent compared with6.7 percent as reported earlier, while export turnover rose by 21.2 percent incomparison with the estimated 14.4 percent.

In the first months of 2018, themarco-economy maintained stable, core inflation was curbed at 1.34 percent, andCPI increased by 2.8 percent during January-April.

Monetary policy was managed flexibly, theforeign exchange market and foreign exchange rate were stable, and the State’sforeign exchange reserves were 63.5 billion USD.

GDP growth rate hit 7.38 percent in thefirst quarter of 2018 – the highest rate in the past 10 years, with expansionseen across agriculture, industry and construction, and services.

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was52.7 points, and listed in the leading group in the Association of SoutheastAsian Nations (ASEAN), said Binh.-VNA