Prime Minister: It is not necessary to trade off between quality and growth rate

Not only the spirit and content of the conference, the phrase “fast and sustainable” has truly been the top key words, the strategic choice and consistent action of the Vietnamese Government since it officially began its term in mid-2016.

In its strategy for rapid and sustainable growth, the Vietnamese Government has identified three important pillars in all policies and development models, including economic, social and environmental. In a recent conference, the Prime Minister called it the “3 in 1” principle of development.

The Prime Minister stated that, more than ever, in today's context, we understand that economic growth cannot be sustained in the long term without sustainability. Sustainable development is not in conflict with rapid growth, but on the contrary, it is an important connotation, creating a necessary and sufficient condition for rapid growth in the long term, especially in the context of the 4.0 industrial revolution.

That is also one of the basic principles of the socialist-oriented market economy in Vietnam. We develop so that no one is left behind, whether in the lowlands or highlands, rural, urban or border islands. Vietnam grows rapidly to meet the conditions of resources, time and determination to thoroughly resolve the existing problems and shortcomings of the economy; and more importantly, to keep up with the rapid movements of the 4.0 industrial revolution, of the globalization process, trade and investment liberalization, in which Vietnam in particular and ASEAN in general are a bright spot in the world.

Along with industry, agriculture is a big bright spot of Vietnam's economy in 2018 with a growth rate of 3.76% - the highest in 7 years. Agriculture is also one of the important macroeconomic stability foundations of Vietnam with a lot of potential and advantages ahead.

Growth quality has clearly improved, reflected in the gradual increase in labor productivity growth rate and the gradual decrease in ICOR coefficient compared to previous years.

In particular, at no time before has Vietnam witnessed the growth and determination of the private economic sector to "reach out to the sea" as in the past two years. In 2018 alone, over 130,000 new businesses were established and over 34,000 businesses resumed operations.

In 2019, the Prime Minister said that he will directly direct the reassessment of all aspects of the Government's socio-economic management from the central to local levels, focusing on three major aspects. First is the thinking and planning process for socio-economic development in the past 10 years, in which it is necessary to point out the inherited values ​​and major lessons learned, which need to continue to be recognized and seriously rectified. Second, the governance aspects of the Government. Goals such as digital government, development-creating values, integrity... are difficult to put into practice without reforming governance principles and models that are no longer suitable to reality.
Third, the Government will reassess the entire status and true potential of key economic sectors to create new momentum for development. In particular, the Government identifies the digital economy as a driving force, a pioneering engine for Vietnam's goal of rapid and sustainable development.

At this forum, the Prime Minister once again affirmed that we can have fast and sustainable economic growth, without necessarily having to trade off or choose between growth quality and growth speed. This has not only been a slogan but has truly become Vietnam's determination to act "because our potential is still very large and more importantly, nearly 100 million Vietnamese people, including compatriots at home and abroad, always nurture a strong aspiration to become an independent, self-reliant and prosperous nation".

The Prime Minister said that in 2019 and the following years, the Government will focus on maintaining socio-political stability and consolidating a solid macro- and micro-economic foundation, thereby enhancing resilience and absorbing impulses from fluctuations in the world economy.

The Government is committed to further promoting structural reforms, improving the quality of legal institutions and state governance capacity to improve potential growth by 7% or more, reforming and improving the efficiency of state-owned enterprises and the cooperative economy, promoting the private economy, making the FDI sector more closely linked with the domestic economic sector. Efforts will be made to clear bottlenecks for faster and more sustainable development, and remove bottlenecks in resource allocation mechanisms.

The Prime Minister hopes that Resolution 02 on improving the business investment environment and enhancing national competitiveness, which was issued at the beginning of the year, will create a new attraction for Vietnam's business environment and competitiveness in 2019.

From 2019, the Government will prioritize policies for investment in human capital and high-quality infrastructure, especially smart infrastructure and infrastructure for the 4.0 industrial revolution. At the same time, the Government will also set a priority agenda in the coming years for education reform, especially higher education, focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, ensuring that graduates have the minimum and appropriate skills in the era of the 4.0 industrial revolution.

The Government recognizes that Vietnam’s current spending on science and technology research is still quite low compared to the world average as well as other countries in the region. Therefore, increasing spending on science and technology and encouraging the private sector to invest more in research and development will be one of the Government’s policy focuses from 2019.

Taking note of the opinions at the Forum, the Prime Minister expressed that in every step on this thorny journey, Vietnam always hopes to receive support, companionship and valuable contributions.

At the Forum, the Prime Minister directly discussed and had dialogue on a number of issues related to institutions and policies.

When asked what was the most important reason for the positive results in 2018, the Prime Minister said there were three main reasons. First, the political system, people and businesses have responded positively to the Party and State's policies and guidelines on economic development and maintaining macroeconomic stability.

The second is to create a more favorable investment and business environment for people and businesses, thereby unleashing strong production capacity.

Third, the Government and relevant agencies have removed bottlenecks and freed up resources to best serve the country's development.

In response to the request to share some priorities in institutional reform in 2019, the Prime Minister affirmed the view of continuing to build a socialist-oriented market economic institution, for a rich people, strong country, democracy, fairness, and civilization. Institutional policies serve inclusive development so that no one is left behind. Continue to build a more favorable investment and business environment, liberating productive forces.

Speaking at the Forum, Politburo member, Party Central Committee Secretary, Head of the Central Economic Commission Nguyen Van Binh said that when we are on the cusp of success, it is time for us to identify major, strategic issues, creating a foundation for development in the coming period.

He believes that a country that wants to "transform into a dragon or a tiger" must maintain high, stable growth and make breakthroughs in policy.

At the Forum, many opinions, including businesses, highly appreciated the Government's efforts in developing and facilitating businesses.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, CEO of Vietjet, said that the Government has sent out a strong message about a creative, clean Government, an action-oriented Government with moves to loosen institutional and economic constraints for the private economy to develop.

According to Ms. Thao, Vietnam has recently witnessed the contribution of private economic locomotives, which is also an active and dynamic sector in a start-up country. Accordingly, the innovative spirit of the private economic sector will be an important driving force of the economy, contributing opportunities and positive trends in a period of many fluctuations in the world economy.