Customers buy agriculture produce in a supermarket in District 9,
Ho Chi Minh City on March 26, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran. 

Vietnam has set a GDP growth target of 6.5 percent for 2021 as it seeks to revive the economy following Covid-19 impacts. 

"As of now we can confirm that Vietnam have succeeded in both containing the Covid-19 pandemic and maintaining growth," Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at an online meeting with municipal leaders on Monday.

Although Vietnam’s GDP growth dropped to 2.91 percent this year, the lowest in 10 years (2011-2020) the economy is still among the few in the world with positive growth, the PM said.

This result was achieved by the effective implementation of a strategy against the pandemic with combined efforts by the government and the people, he said.

The country managed to keep the number of Covid-19 deaths very low, 35 at the time of publishing, while making positive socioeconomic progress and consolidating national defense, he added.

2020 could be considered a most successful year in the 2016-2020 period thanks to the determination of the people and government bodies in overcoming many difficulties, he said.

Climate change challenges, including several storms hitting the central region repeatedly and salt intrusion in the Mekong Delta region were other serious difficulties the country has had to face.

Despite all these difficulties,Vietnam created over $1.2 trillion in GDP over the last five years, with the 2020 figure at $340 billion, among the top 40 largest economies in the world and exceeding some strong economies in Asia.

Other successes in the last five years include the creation of 8 million new jobs, an agriculture exports value of $41 billion, a national brand valuation of $319 billion, a fast-growing stock market with value exceeding 1,200 points at times, and record-high foreign exchange reserves of $100 billion.

However, the PM also acknowledged that the country still faces many challenges. Growth was still behind potential, people’s income was low and small and medium businesses were still struggling to grow.

In the upcoming years, the government aims to provide health coverage for all residents, including full coverage for children under 16, he said.

He called for people to join all efforts to make Vietnam a developed, high-income country by 2045.