At the Government’s monthly meeting, Cabinet members said despite complex geo-political and geo-economic developments in the past eight months, the country’s socio-economic indexes have reached the highest levels.

Forecasting challenges in the months ahead, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said the US-China trade war will strongly affect Vietnam while natural disasters from now until the end of the year may cause big consequences.

PM Phuc said to deal with the predicted challenges, leading officials must promote their responsibility in the activities of their ministries, sectors and localities.

He stressed that the top priority must be given to controlling inflation and stabilizing the macro-economy, and this must be a regular task. Although international organisations have had good assessment of Vietnam’s performance in this issue, relevant ministries and sectors still need to prepare response solutions in line with possible global changes, the PM said.

PM Phuc asked the State Bank of Vietnam to continue a prudent and flexible monetary policy while stepping up the restructuring of credit institutions and solving bad debts. All-level authorities and sectors need to work harder to prevent budget losses, tax arrears and transfer pricing and reduce the State budget deficit to under 3.7 percent of total GDP, he stressed.

Assessing the socio-economic situation between January and August, the PM said the country’s comprehensive development has been ensured, noting positive changes such as decreased regular spending, higher spending on investment, initial application of Industry 4.0 technology, more attention paid to environmental issues, and development of high-quality agriculture.

The Government leader said macro-economic criteria have been ensured, and the economy’s resilience has been improved. He also recognised improvements in the investment and business climate, which are highly valued by international organisations, adding that administrations at all levels have paid more heed to ensuring people and enterprises’ interests.-VNA