Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh has called for political reform to prop up the nation’s development.

Speaking at the ongoing 12th National Party Congress in Hanoi last Friday, Vinh said that over the past five years Vietnam has improved economic institutions and thus made certain achievements but no significant political reform has been done.

This is why the nation’s reform process over the past five years has not been as fruitful as expected, said Vinh, who is member of the 11th Party Central Committee, in a report on accelerating institutional reform for prosperity, creativity, justice and democracy in Vietnam.

Speaking on behalf of the ministry’s Party committee at the congress, Vinh said the 11th National Congress of the Central Party Committee issued a resolution adopting the socio-economic development strategy for 2011-2020 with an emphasis on setting out an appropriate roadmap for consistent economic and political reforms.

According to Vinh, the resolution requires greater effort to improve a market-oriented economy, promote the rule of law, and push for democracy in the Party and society. These are the crucial criteria for evaluating the nation’s reform and development processes.

Vietnam has actively reformed economic institutions and shifted from a centrally planned economy into a market-oriented economy. “This basic change has spurred Vietnam’s growth,” Vinh stressed.

However, he said the organizational and operational structures of the Party and organizations of the political system have remained almost unchanged over the past seven decades. 

Vinh said the political system for a centrally planned economy is no longer suitable for a market economy. Therefore, consistent political and economic reforms are now an urgent task.

Vinh said that as the most powerful body of the nation, the Party Central Committee should review and observe the resolution approved at the last national congress. This is the most important factor for the reform process in the coming years to help the nation move forward.

Vietnam has a maximum of 10 years left to benefit from its demographic golden age, he said, adding the driving force of reform generated in the past years has almost diminished.

Vinh said enhancing competitiveness is key to Vietnam’s growth given the country’s stronger international integration.

He noted that Vietnam’s prosperity will depend greatly much on whether economic growth will go hand in hand with environmental protection or not. The nation should post high and sustainable growth in the next 20 years so that the average per capita income could grow 7% annually to reach US$15,000-18,000 by 2035.

To reach the target, the most effective way is to increase labor productivity, which has steadily declined since 1990.

Vinh emphasized the urgency to develop the domestic corporate sector in terms of both quantity and quality with a focus on private firms, as the strength of domestic enterprises is one of the decisive factors for the health of the economy.

Therefore, healthy competition and favorable conditions should be created for all domestic firms to gain equal access to capital sources, land, natural resources and information.