How to develop in a rapid and sustainable way in order to escape the middle-income trap remains a major challenge facing Vietnam’s economy, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc while addressing the second Vietnam Economic Forum in Hanoi on January 11.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at Vietnam Economic Forum in Hanoi.

The PM showed his approval for proposals presented at the event to help Vietnam achieve the target, including developing green energy, increasing productivity in the context of industrialisation, and improving investment and business climate through the reform of risk management, particularly in credit, trade and investment. 

In the coming time, Vietnam needs to consistently pursue the new growth model based on productivity, reform and innovation, he said. 

The government leader also emphasised the need to ease the rely on traditional competitive advantages like natural resources or low-cost labour, especially in the context that the country’s golden population structure will last for no longer than two decades  and international pressures are getting fiercer. 

With a growth rate of 6.81 percent, Vietnam is among countries with the highest growth in Asia and the world, he said, highlighting the country’s efforts in pushing economic reform and combating corruption. 

The PM said the goal for this year is a growth rate at 6.7 percent, and the growth quality and competitiveness of the economy as well as each sector, locality and business must be enhanced, to help the economy become better resistant to major downturns. 

Growth and development is a marathon race, not a sprint, PM Phuc said, stressing that achievements should be considered the foundation for stronger restructuring and shift of growth model. 

Under the theme “Fast and sustainable development: new challenges and momentums,” the second Vietnam Economic Forum brought together nearly 1,500 domestic and international economic experts and scholars. 

Following his address, PM Phuc had a dialogue with the participating delegates, during which he again noted the need to enhance productivity, especially total factor productivity (TFP) along with a range of solutions to enhance the economy’s resistance against external adverse impacts.-VNA