Hanoi (VNA) 🌳– In 2021, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) will continue to proposing specific policies to remove difficulties and supporting COVID-19-hit businesses and people, according to Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong.

Phuong unveiled the information at a national conference to evaluate the ministry’s performance in the 2016-2020 period and set tasks for 2021, which was held virtually on January 8.

Pioneering in reform and renovation

Deputy Minister Phuong underlined that the planning-investment and statistics sector will continue enhancing its role in giving advice on socio-economic development and public investment plan, strategy and planning. He said that one of the sector’s key tasks is to synchronously implement measures and solutions set in the resolutions of the Party Central Committee, National Assembly and Government, especially the Resolution No.01/NQ-CP issued on January 1, 2021 by the Government.

The ministry will coordinate with relevant agencies to launch programmes and plansto serve the 13^th National Party Congress, the elections of deputies to the 15^th🉐 National Assembly and People’s Councils in the 2021-2026 tenure.

Alongside, the ministry will build and issue action programmes and working plans to realise the Resolution to be adopted at the 13^th🍎 National Party Congress as well as conclusions and resolutions of the Party and National Assembly right after they are approved, thus implementing its major missions in 2021.

At the same time, Phuong said that this year, the ministry will promptly finalise reports on the implementation of the public investment plan in the past five years and a plan for the next five years, as well as assessments on the conducting of socio-economic development and the Government’s action plan to realise the National Assembly’s resolution on the socio-economic development and a draft action plan for the next period.

Continuing to renovate growth model

At the conference, leaders of the MPI noted that in the 2016-2020 period, globalisation, cooperation and development remained a major trend with the introduction of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which has brought about both opportunities and challenges. Along with the increasing openness of the economy, Vietnam suffered greater impacts from the outside. Meanwhile, internal problems, climate change and natural disasters, especially the COVID-19 pandemic that broke out in early 2020 have posed negative impacts on all socio-economic activities of the country.

In this situation, the MPI has proposed the Government to issue action plans to implement the 12^th🅺 National Party Congress’ Resolution, and the National Assembly’s resolutions on the socio-economic development in the 2016-2020 period, together with the Government’s action programme in the 2016-2021 period.

Specifically, the ministry suggested the issuance of a number of major policies to continue renovating the growth model, enhancing the growth quality, productivity, and the economy’s competitiveness. In 2020 when COVID-19 hit the whole world and posed adverse impacts to all socio-economic areas of the country, the MPI proposed to the Government, Prime Minister, Politburo and National Assembly many urgent measures to remove difficulties for business and production activities, speeding up public investment, ensuring social welfare, order and safety, overcoming the pandemic’s impacts to recover and boost economic development.

59 out of 63 localities complete planning schemes

Regarding planning activities, Phuong said that right after the Law on Planning was adopted by the National Assembly, the MPI has given advice to the Government on the issuance of guiding documents and coordinated with other ministries, agencies and localities to take steps to build and approve the tasks of making planning schemes. So far, 59 out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide have completed or are finalisingthe approval of the tasks of designing planning schemes, he said, adding that the planning of the Mekong Delta region has seen remarkable progress and is being finalized to submit to the Prime Minister. The MPI has also suggested the Prime Minister to approve a project to restructure the pubic investment scheme in the 2017-2020 period with a vision to 2025 to lay a foundation to implement measures to restructure public investment. Last year, the disbursement of public investment reached 82,8 percent of the yearly plan, marking it the highest level in the 2016-2020 period, he noted./.