wrote Murat Ungor, a Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Otago in his article run by New Zealand’s website asiamediacentre.org.nz on January 18.

In the article, the author cited data from the World Bank as saying that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7 percent in 2019, similar to 2018, one of the fastest growth rates in the region.

It is argued that if Vietnam can maintain a 7 percent increase in economic growth over the next decade, the country will follow the same trajectory as the previous "Asian Tigers,” according to the article.

International trade was also progressively liberalised, with the signing of various free trade agreements, it said, adding that the World Bank now considers Vietnam one of the most dynamic emerging countries in East Asia.

Vietnam responded quickly and effectively to the pandemic, and its successes against COVID-19 have been acknowledged, it noted, attributing that keys to Vietnam’s success have been strategic testing, aggressive contact tracing and effective public communications campaigns which pushed clear and science-based messages to the population.

Vietnam is among a few countries set to register positive economic growth for the year 2020. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s World Economic Outlook Update for October, the global economy was projected to shrink by 4.4 percent last year over COVID-19. In the same report, IMF forecast 1.6 percent growth for Vietnam, it said./.VNA