Hosting the recent summit between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States of America (USA) was a big success for Vietnam, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said while chairing a regular government meeting in Hanoi on March 1.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (standing) speaks at the regular government meeting 

The position of Vietnam as well as the country’s careful organisation of the event were recognised and appreciated by the two leaders and the international community, Phuc said.

Despite a short period of time for preparation, Vietnam did its best to organise the summit and ensured absolute security and safety, he stressed.

Vietnam promoted its image as a peace-loving country with various accomplishments in reform and international integration, he said.

The Southeast Asian country also used the occasion to show international friends local food and friendly and hospitable people, he added.

Some 2,600 foreign reporters from the world’s leading news agencies were present in Hanoi and their reports helped promote the image of Hanoi and Vietnam, he noted.

On other matters, the PM said the whole political system had worked to ensure a warm Lunar New Year (Tet) for all people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, social welfare families and ethnic minority groups.

The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) mobilised 1.75 million gift packages and 900 billion VND (38.6 million USD) to support poor people for Tet holiday, he noted.

While evaluating the socio-economic situation in February, PM Phuc highlighted the positive aspects such as stable macro-economy, rising foreign investment and growth in tourism, exports and sales of goods.

The PM also said some issues need to be addressed soon such as African swine fever outbreaks in some localities and decreasing rice prices in the Mekong Delta.

He praised the agriculture sector for implementing several measures on trade and exports to increase product value.

The processing and manufacturing sector should seek ways to grow more vigorously.

At the meeting, the cabinet members also discussed the plan for the central budget and the medium-term public investment scheme for 2016-2020.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the socio-economic situation in February was stable, with positive developments in most fields.

The consumer price index (CPI) in the first two months of 2019 posted a year-on-year rise of 2.6 percent. 

Total State budget collection reached 246 trillion VND (10.5 billion USD), up 18.2 percent against the same period last year.

VNA