In 2020, Viet Nam not only surmounted unprecedented challenges, especially the Covid-19 pandemic and historical natural disasters in the Central region, but also attained important achievements in all fields. 

The Viet Nam Government Portal selected the top 10 events in 2020 as follows:

1. Successful organization of Party Congresses at all levels

All 67 centrally-run Party organizations conducted their congresses for the 2020-2025 tenure as of October 29.

In three sessions held throughout the year, the Party Central Committee received and studied opinions contributed by Party members and the people to complete all documents and reach a high level of consensus on personnel plans to be submitted to the 13th National Party Congress.

2. Effective responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and social security guarantee

In 2020, Viet Nam dealt with two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, but lost only over 30 lives to the virus. 

Right from the beginning of the outbreak, the Party and State leaders have been resolved to “fight the pandemic like fighting the enemy”, and remained faithful to the motto of “prevention; detection; quarantining; stamping out; effective treatment”, to “protect the health and lives of the people”.

Viet Nam has been recognized by the world as a bright spot in the pandemic fight. 

Noticeably, the Government has promptly supported people and enterprises affected by the pandemic, with tens of millions of people benefitting from the VND 62,000 trillion financial support package (nearly US$ 2.6 billion). 

Thanhs to effective management of the pandemic, Viet Nam has brought home more than 75,000 Vietnamese citizens stranded abroad due to Covid-19. 

3. Achieving positive growth 

In 2020, the Government set the “dual goals” of containing the Covid-19 pandemic and boosting economic recovery. 

While the global economy is still in deep recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese economy expanded 2.91%, among the world’s highest. Viet Nam's GDP is estimated to reach US$340.6 billion this year, making it the fourth largest economy in Southeast Asia. 

The economy was ranked among top 16 most successful emerging economies in the world.

4. Overcoming historical natural disasters

Seven consecutive storms hit Viet Nam’s central region in October and November, bringing unprecedented torrential rains, leading to widespread flooding that caused the death and missing of 249 people. 

Some 50,000 ha of rice and crops were destroyed, while more than 4.5 million heads of livestock drowned. There were also 149,000 ha of forest affected, while a range of infrastructure and civil works were damaged.  

The Government directed all levels to support victims; repair infrastructure, schools, and hospitals; and resume socio-economic activities. 

5. Perfecting mechanisms and building e-Government

In the 2016-2020 tenure, the goal of developing an e-government represented the strategic breakthrough. 

The National Public Service Portal provided more than 2,650 online public services during the year, along with 6,700 administrative procedures at four levels. 

In May, 2020, the Government issued Resolution 68/NQ-CP which targets to cut or simplify at least 20% of the current regulations on business through 2025 and slash at least 20% of business procedure compliance costs. 

In June, the PM passed the National Digital Transformation Program to 2025 with a vision to 2030 with the aim of making Viet Nam a digital country with stability and prosperity and pioneering new technologies and models by 2030. The program targets the twin goals of developing an e-government, an e-economy, and an e-society, and forming digital technology businesses with global competitiveness.

The administrative reform and e-Government establishment helped save 18 million working days per year, equivalent to over VND6.3 trillion (US$271.24 million) annually. 

6. Multilateral diplomacy makes important imprints

In 2020, Viet Nam successfully performed the roles of ASEAN Chair 2020, President of the 41st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-41), and the non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure, actively making contributions to the building and shaping of multilateral institutions.

As a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, Viet Nam proposed initiatives to organize the first open discussion on UN-ASEAN cooperation, with the theme “Upholding the UN Charter to Maintain International Peace and Security”, and set the date of December 27 as International Day of Epidemic Preparedness.

7. Positive cultural and social outcomes 

In 2020, multidimensional poverty rate dropped from nearly 10% in 2015 to under 3% in 2020. Health insurance covered nearly 91% of population. 

8. Record public investment disbursement rate

In 2020, the Government targeted to speed up public investment rate in a bid to boost economic growth. 

In addition, important transport projects were ground-broken, including the construction of six out of 11 sections of the Eastern North-South Expressway and Long Thanh international airport, regional highways, and urban metros. 

9.  Joining new generation free trade agreements 

On June 8, the National Assembly ratified the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Viet Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). The two documents took effect from August 1, 2020. 

Leaders from 15 Asia-Pacific nations signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement on November 15, 2020 as part of the 37th ASEAN Summit chaired by Viet Nam.  

The FTA will give the Vietnamese economy advantageous access to another one-third of the world’s population, generating export growth opportunities in markets which together account for 29% of the world’s GDP, or about US$26 trillion.

10.  Better performance in int’l rankings

Viet Nam was ranked 42nd for the second straight year out of 131 economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2020 rankings.  

The Human Capital Index for Viet Nam increased from 0.66 to 0.69 between 2010 and 2020, according to a new report by the World Bank Group. 

Viet Nam climbed up one spot and placed 117th out of 189 countries and territories, and joined the ranks of countries in the world with high human development, according to the Human Development Report, titled The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene.