Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung and Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand Thani Thongphakdi exchanged views on cooperation between the two countries and ministries, along with regional and international issues of shared concern, during their online talks on February 24.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung (Photo: VNA)The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee set targets and approved operational orientations and solutions for this year for its industrial and trade sectors at a recent meeting.

They include 5% growth in industrial production, with its four key industries (food processing, pharmaceutical chemicals-rubber-plastic, mechanical engineering, and electronics) growing by at least 6.7%.

The targets for growth in retail sales of goods and services and exports are 10%, Bui Ta Hoang Vu, director of the city Department of Industry and Trade, said.

Non-financial targets include improvements in administrative procedures for businesses and the public, he said.

His department would adopt comprehensive solutions to achieve the targets, help revive the city’s economic growth and create a major transformation in its economic structure so that the services sector accounts for over 60% of the economy.

It would envisage and carry out solutions that enable the city to maintain its leading role in the country in terms of the economy and innovation, he said.

With respect to administrative reforms, it would enhance the use of IT in administration, he said.

Phan Thi Thang, vice chairwoman of the city People’s Committee, hailed the achievements of the industrial sector in 2020, saying it had greatly contributed to the city’s achievement of its dual goals of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic but also sustaining socio-economic growth.

She urged the department to speedily achieve administrative reforms and implement two promotion programmes that would attract local and foreign tourists and make HCM City a major shopping centre in the country.

The city would prioritise easing administrative procedures to facilitate businesses’ functioning, she added.