The Prime Minister chaired the online Government-local authorities conference on the socio-economic situation.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stated that in the past period, we have made great efforts to implement three major groups of tasks. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Attending the conference were Deputy Prime Ministers Le Minh Khai, Tran Hong Ha, and Tran Luu Quang; General Phan Van Giang - Minister of National Defense; members of the Government; and leaders of ministries, branches, and central agencies.

Attending the conference at the Government headquarters were Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan and Comrade Dinh Van An, Assistant to the General Secretary. Attending the conference at the local locations were leaders of provinces and centrally-administered cities.

According to the program, the conference will focus on discussing the socio-economic situation in March and the first three months of 2023, the implementation of Government Resolution 01, the socio-economic recovery and development program, the three national target programs, the allocation and disbursement of public investment capital; tasks and solutions for socio-economic development in the second quarter of 2023 and the coming period; and supplementary assessment of the results of the implementation of the socio-economic development plan and the State budget for 2022.

In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh noted that we have concluded the first quarter and entered the second quarter of the third year of implementing the Resolution of the 13th National Congress of the Party.

We are implementing tasks, solutions, and efforts to achieve the goals set forth in the resolutions, conclusions, and directives of the Party, the National Assembly, and the Government, amidst the ongoing consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, increasingly fierce strategic competition among major powers, a declining global economy, inflation in many countries (though cooling down) remains high, countries continue to tighten monetary policy, demand decreases, markets shrink (especially major markets for Vietnam), and prices of some strategic commodities and input materials are unstable, particularly oil prices. These factors of instability and increased risk, declining confidence in global financial markets, and the closure or bankruptcy of some banks in the US and Europe further exacerbate the situation.

The Prime Minister chaired the online Government conference with localities on the socio-economic situation. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Domestically, the economy is modest in size but highly open, with limited resilience; even small external fluctuations can have a significant impact internally, especially in a developing country with a transitional economy.

In this context, over the past period and in the first quarter of 2023, under the leadership of the Party, directly and regularly by the Politburo and the Secretariat, headed by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, with the involvement of the entire political system, the support of the people, the assistance of international friends, and the efforts of the government at all levels, we have basically achieved the major goals: maintaining macroeconomic stability, controlling inflation, promoting growth, ensuring major economic balances, maintaining political stability, national defense, security, social order and safety, strengthening and expanding foreign relations and integration. The material and spiritual lives of the people continue to improve, and the United Nations has just announced that Vietnam's ranking in the "Global Happiness Index" has increased by 12 places.

However, many difficulties and challenges remain. From the beginning of the year, we recognized that the situation presented more difficulties and challenges than opportunities and advantages, and to date, we have found this assessment to be even more accurate.

Specifically, the recovery of businesses after the Covid-19 pandemic still faces many difficulties related to access to capital, land, cumbersome administrative procedures, and shrinking markets. The real estate, capital, and corporate bond markets still face many challenges and obstacles that need to be addressed to ensure stable, safe, healthy, and sustainable markets. Addressing issues related to the supply of medicines, biological products, and medical supplies requires more decisive effort. The policy responses of ministries, sectors, and localities need to be more timely and effective to remove difficulties for businesses and people for better recovery. Disbursement of public investment and the implementation of the three national target programs remain challenging. Administrative reform needs to be accelerated, and administrative discipline and order need to be strengthened.

The Prime Minister stated that, in the past period, we have made great efforts to implement three major groups of tasks: long-standing and unresolved issues such as loss-making projects and weak banks; increasingly numerous and demanding regular tasks with ever higher requirements as the economy grows and the population increases; and handling and responding to unexpected and unforeseen issues.

The Prime Minister requested that delegates focus on objectively assessing the results and limitations, analyzing the causes and lessons learned, evaluating the situation, identifying tasks and solutions for implementation, striving to overcome limitations and shortcomings, surmounting difficulties and challenges, and concentrating all efforts to achieve the highest possible results in fulfilling the set goals and tasks.