Every citizen must unite to combat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic while redoubling efforts to maintain production activities in order to ensure that the nation maintains its economic growth.

This message should be taken on by all people amid the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic and a number of complicated developments.

The third wave of the epidemic has hit 13 provinces and cities nationwide, with the northern Hai Duong province being the largest COVID-19 hotspot.

Another Lunar New Year, known locally as Tet, has passed with the threat of further outbreaks, with many localities having to send students home from school, close non-essential services, and enforce social distancing measures.

Following the cancellation of festive events during the Lunar New Year, leaders from the Government to localities implemented anti-pandemic measures as a matter of urgency. Since the initial COVID-19 case was detected in the country on January 23, 2020, almost no aspect of life has been running as normal.

For the second time, a cabinet meeting was held during Tet, with a strong message issued advocating combating the pandemic and speeding up the import and production of vaccines. Simultaneously, Government officials also underlined the need to continue maintaining the dual goal of pandemic prevention and control, whilst encouraging economic development and not letting things grind to a halt.

With the motto of, "Fighting the pandemic is like fighting against the enemy", protecting people's health and lives remains the ultimate goal, with each citizen being a soldier and each family a fortress against the pandemic. Although the motto has not changed, there are less concerns compared to the initial period after everyone has stayed calm and gained more experience in combating the pandemic.

With a population of over 100 million, the country is located close to the epicentre of Wuhan in China and has earned international plaudits for its effective anti-pandemic model. Despite possessing limited resources, the nation has been able to minimise loss of life and economic damage, becoming one of the few countries in the world to enjoy positive economic growth of over 2.9%.

Despite recording plenty of achievements over the past year, 2.91% growth represents the lowest increase for a decade. The consequences of COVID-19 have not only caused negative growth to hit many provinces and cities, but many families and businesses have also yet to recover.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still not showing any signs of abating, the Government remains determined not to adjust the GDP growth target of 6.5% for the year and to set a further increase in economic indicators.

As a means of achieving this goal, there is no other way than to work harder with greater determination.

Many occasions last year saw leaders express impatience about the disbursement progress of public investment capital. Amid a decline in capital from the private sector and foreign investment, the Government has drastically directed the disbursement of public investment capital in an effort to stimulate investment demand. This also helps to boost domestic production as a way of creating jobs and maintaining economic growth.

Most notably, the disbursement rate of public investment capital last year reached the highest rate over the past five years, representing a boost to Vietnamese economic growth in 2020 and becoming a bright spot to promote further economic recovery.

Moving forward, the global and regional situation will continue to evolve in a complicated and unpredictable manner. The tasks for the year ahead will be tough, requiring all sectors business communities, and people nationwide to continue renewing their mindset, act more drastically, and more effectively in order to overcome challenges, whilst turning them into opportunities.

The Government will also uphold the spirit of solidarity and discipline, thereby requesting each ministry, sector, and locality to continue focusing on the dual goal with full determination in order to fight back against the pandemic. It is therefore imperative to take full advantage of opportunities and ramp up efforts to spur socio-economic development in the new normal with aspirations for innovation, stronger reform, and more drastic actions needed.

In his New Year greetings, Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong praised the passionate spirit of patriotism, determination, courage, solidarity, and creativity of the entire Party, the army, and all people in the fight against COVID-19. The Party chief also hailed efforts in boosting socio-economic development and successfully organising the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV).

Amid a range of complex developments relating to the pandemic, with numerous difficulties still ahead, we must be more united and show greater determination to record even greater achievements moving forward.