Prime Minister: Low or high votes both urge the Government to work better

On the morning of November 3, at the Government Headquarters, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chaired the regular Government meeting for October 2018.

The Prime Minister spoke at the regular Government meeting in October 2018.

Looking back at the results of the vote of confidence for Government members at the ongoing National Assembly session, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that compared to previous votes of confidence, this time all Government members received a higher number of votes of confidence and trust.

This is positive information in a context of many difficulties, but the Prime Minister emphasized that whether the number of votes is low or high, it urges the Government to work better, enhance its sense of responsibility to the people and the National Assembly; promote advantages, and quickly overcome shortcomings.

The Prime Minister requested to quickly overcome existing problems to better serve and fulfill one's duties before the Party and the people. This is the most important task of a leader, as a commander in the field.

“I reported to the National Assembly that the very important thing for the Government is “5 fingers on one hand”, we have come together and united in the process of developing the country, despite many difficulties” – the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the results of the vote of confidence in the National Assembly urged Government members to work better.

Emphasizing that the National Assembly is discussing many important draft Resolutions, the Prime Minister requested the Ministries, especially the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance, to work directly with the National Assembly Committees to develop a draft Resolution on socio-economic and financial budget in 2019 that is clearer in both assessing the situation and orienting solutions; thereby implementing the requirements stated in the Central Resolution.

In particular, the Prime Minister noted that the slow disbursement of public investment capital, in addition to institutional problems such as the Law on Public Investment, still has many shortcomings in the direction and management. Some ministries are slow in allocating capital, and many localities are weak in directing implementation.

Regarding the socio-economic situation in October and the first 10 months, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc assessed that, in the context of complicated developments in the world, the domestic situation remains positive, with our country's macro-economy remaining stable, the average CPI in the first 10 months was 3.6%, core inflation increased by 1.43%, and the foreign exchange market rate was stable. This result was highly appreciated by the National Assembly and the people, and is an important foundation for this year and the following years to develop the country's economy.

Another positive result is that exports increased rapidly, reaching 200 billion USD in 10 months, equivalent to the whole year of 2017, with a trade surplus of 6.4 billion USD. The Prime Minister highly appreciated the contribution of exported agricultural products to this result.

After 10 months, the whole country has nearly 110,000 newly registered businesses, 28,000 businesses resumed operations, and the whole year is likely to complete the target of establishing 130,000 new businesses.

Agricultural and industrial production also increased strongly, with industry continuing to be the driving force for growth. The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) increased from 51.5 points in September to 53.9 points in October, showing continued strong improvement in manufacturing.

The number of international tourists to Vietnam in the first 10 months exceeded 12.8 million, an increase of 28%. Social culture, poverty reduction, environmental protection, national defense, security, and foreign affairs continued to receive attention and focus. The number of hungry households decreased by 37%.

However, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also pointed out some shortcomings that need to be overcome. Among them, the business environment and competitiveness enhancement in the context of the 4.0 industrial revolution are being downgraded; especially innovation, research and development and application of high technology are still low.

The Prime Minister emphasized that this is the stage that we must concentrate our efforts on, because if we do not develop technology, do not have high-tech enterprises, and do not strongly apply the achievements of the 4.0 industrial revolution in Vietnam, we will fall behind in the world of strong scientific and technological development today.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc presented the President's Decision appointing the Minister of Information and Communications to Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung.

The Prime Minister suggested: “Comrades, please look at this and have specific solutions, otherwise you will fall behind. Falling behind is vital for the country. I ask you to discuss this matter, not just in general terms, but to go into each issue, content, solution, and specific steps. I don’t know how many of you have carefully studied the 12 pillars, 98 criteria in the WEF’s competitiveness assessment, or the 10 groups of indicators in the World Bank’s business environment assessment? You must go into specifics, worry and work on how to improve each indicator, criterion, and group of indicators of the sector you are in charge of.”

The Prime Minister also raised a number of other issues such as low-priced agricultural products, increasing in quantity but decreasing export turnover such as cashew, rubber, pepper... This is an issue that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade need to coordinate to remove difficulties for farmers. In addition, there are control measures to prevent African swine fever from entering Vietnam.

Warning that many valuable breeds are owned by other countries, the Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and relevant ministries to report specifically and propose solutions.

Pointing out the difficulties in production and business of enterprises, the Prime Minister noted that this situation could affect the growth momentum of localities and the whole country.

The Prime Minister pointed out that in the past, when the national economy grew by 1, Ho Chi Minh City's economy grew by 1.6. However, currently, when the national GDP increases by 1, Ho Chi Minh City's economy only increases by 1.05, equivalent to the growth rate of the whole country. This is a decline that needs attention, especially when large cities are the driving force of the country's growth. Pointing out this, the Prime Minister noted that localities, especially the 5 large cities that are the economic locomotives of the whole country, need to step up the improvement of the investment and business environment, creating growth momentum for localities and the whole country.

Besides, the Prime Minister noted that the situation of smuggling and trade fraud is complicated, and some cases even have the complicity of corrupt officials in state agencies.

The Prime Minister also requested ministries to focus on handling social issues of great concern, which are social order and safety in some areas that are becoming complicated, including drug trafficking, gangsters, illegal credit, protection rackets, robberies, bank robberies, fires and explosions, and traffic accidents still occurring in some localities./.