PM seeks new measures to achieve highest growth possible

Hanoi (VNA) - Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked for more measures to boost investment, export, and consumption to achieve the highest growth possible in 2020 at a national teleconference between the Government and localities on July 2.

He said that no community transmission of COVID-19 being reported in Vietnam for more than two months is a great success for the country’s Party, State, and political system, and has earned plaudits from the public and the international community.

However, he noted, the pandemic has had a huge impact on socio-economic matters, presenting urgent requirements for economic recovery with a motto of taking full advantage of opportunities when the disease is brought under control.

Due to the impact of the disease, the country’s GDP growth in the second quarter hit a 30-year low of 0.36 percent, for a first-half figure of 1.81 percent. Twelve out of the country’s 63 cities and provinces posted negative growth.

The PM, therefore, stressed the importance of fighting the disease while at the same time taking action to foster economic growth.

It is necessary to carry out fiscal and monetary policies flexibly to ensure growth, for the general interest of the economy and for employment and incomes, he added.

Emphasising low public disbursement in the first half, he said that if any locality or sector cannot disburse public investment on schedule, he has the right to transfer the capital to another.

The effective disbursement of 700 trillion VND (30.36 billion USD) worth of public investment will serve as short-term stimulus and drive growth over the remaining months of 2020 and the opening months of 2021, he said.

The PM also stressed the necessity for more measures to expand markets and promote domestic consumption and for greater attention to be paid to perfecting laws, cutting administrative procedures, and developing the night-time economy, the digital economy, and the urban economy, among others./.