HCMC – While highlighting Vietnam’s success in effectively containing the Covid-19 pandemic at a meeting on June 8, National Assembly delegates discussed social and economic recovery plans.
Thuan Huu, a delegate from Haiphong City, said that Vietnam’s economic recovery is still dependent on the global situation. Stating that the country would benefit from the production shift away from China, he warned that the process would be slow because China has an edge as Vietnam lacks developed supporting industries.
Huu noted that Vietnam is less experienced than some other countries in the region such as India, Malaysia and Thailand. To be well prepared and take advantage of the production shift from China, the country needs to improve its supporting industries, infrastructure, labor market and digital economy.
Addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said 2019 was the third straight year that the country had completed all the tasks assigned by the Party and National Assembly. This year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government is considering adjusting the economic growth expectation to 4-4.5% from the initial forecast of 6.8%.
The prime minister asked the entire Communist Party, citizens, ministries, government departments, agencies and local authorities to work together to deal with the post-pandemic obstacles.
Stating that the Government would take deeper measures to fight corruption, boost foreign investment, support the private sector, promote innovation and accelerate the disbursement of public investment, Phuc said, “If local governments fail to disburse public investment capital in a timely manner, the Government will allocate investments to other localities.”
Delegate Thuan Huu proposed the need for strict measures to solve shortcomings with regard to loss-making and delayed projects such as the Thai Nguyen iron and steel project, the Thai Binh 2 thermal power plant and the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway.
Attributing the delays and losses to shortcomings and wrongdoings, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that it would take time to solve problems.
