Legislators on Wednesday began two-day discussion on socio-economic performance in 2019 and put forward recommendations for the Government to fix shortcomings. 

The above figures were released by the General Statistics Office on October 29, 2019

Socio-economic panorama

This year will be the second consecutive year that the Government is likely to meet all 12 major socioeconomic targets assigned by the legislative body for this year, of which five goals are poised to reach beyond expectations.

The economy is estimated to grow 6.8% this year, making Viet Nam one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

Labor productivity growth is expected to hover around by 5.9% this year and the ratio of total factor productivity (TFP) to GDP is projected to reach 42.7%.

Despite global trade downturn, Viet Nam’s exports increased by around 7.9%.

The disbursed volume of foreign direct investment reached a record high of US$14.2 billion in the first nine months this year.

Current global rankings of Viet Nam's economy size, competitiveness,
innovation, cybersecurity, investment attractiveness

Viet Nam also made improvements on global rankings with the global competitiveness index jumping by 10 places to 67th out of 141 and the global innovation index advancing to 42nd out of 129 economies.

The 8th working session of the 14th National Assembly
takes place from October 21 to November 27.

Biggest barrier to agricultural production

Deputy Luu Thanh Cong from the Southern province of Vinh Long said the biggest barrier to farmers is market information.

He suggested the Government need to boost dissemination of information to farmers to help them stay connected to the market demand while advancing large-scale production. 

Deputy Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Photo: VGP

Drastic reform or lagging behind

Deputy Vu Tien Loc from Thai Binh province highlighted that 2019 continues to be the successful year as evidenced by fulfillment of all 12 targets set by the National Assembly.

Inflation and unemployment rate are expected to be below 3% and 4% respectively and more than 130,000 businesses have been established, Loc added.

To sustain high growth, it is vital to improve the competitiveness of the business community and we will lag behind without continued drastic reform, he stressed.

Quality of legal documents, disbursement of public investment

Deputy Hoang Van Tra from Phu Yen province urged the National Assembly and the Government to allocate more resources for improving the quality of legal documents and further clarifying the competence, responsibilities, and sanctions of those involving legal building process.

Amid slow disbursement of public investment, Tra suggested the Government devise feasible solutions to overcome the situation in a bid to gain greater socio-economic achievements.

Better organization of State apparatus

After more than 30 years of reform, we have not built up a State apparatus that could meet requirements of national development process, according to deputy Nguyen Thanh Hien from Nghe An province.

He urged the National Assembly and the Government to conduct full and comprehensive studies on this matter to improve the effectiveness of the State apparatus.

Fast and stable growth but not "tiger"

Deputy Hoang Quang Ham from the northern province of Phu Tho said Viet Nam has sustained fast and stable growth over the pas time but the country still remains a low middle-income country.

30 years ago, the GDP per capita gap between Viet Nam and the rest of the world was US$3,900 but the gap is widening year after year, Ham said.

He called for identifying breathroughs, such as quality of workforce, science and technology, and startup, to help the country escape from the possibility of lagging behind.

Lieutenant General Tran Viet Khoa, Director of the National Defense Academy.
Photo: VGP

Stay vigilant, well prepare for all situations

Lieutenant General Tran Viet Khoa, Director of the National Defense Academy said there have been complicated developments in the East Sea, threatening security in the region and the world.

We need to constantly stay vigilant and prepare well for all possible situations to safeguard national interests, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, Khoa said.

He went on to say that we must be ready to push back war dangers and to firmly maintain peaceful and stable environment for national development.

Rearrangement of administrative units at district, communal levels

Deputy Nguyen Son from the central province of Ha Tinh said one of the urgent tasks for 2020 would be to accelerate the rearrangment of administrative units at district and communal levels after the Party Central Committee and the National Assembly issued separate resolutions on this matter.

This task requires consensus from the whole political system and people and should be completed before national party congresses at grassroots level.

Air pollution requires coordinated efforts

Deputy Nguyen Lan Hieu from the southern province of An Giang referred to alarming situation of recent environmental pollution incidents, especially air pollution in big cities.

Fixing such incidents requires concerted efforts from central to local levels in developing concrete legal critieria to tighten legal grip on environment pollution.

The debate will continue on Thursday.