Prime Minister: Vietnam is confident and courageous to maintain balance based on principles

Under the coordination of Mr. Borge Brende, Executive Chairman of WEF, the dialogue session was attended by about 100 delegates representing governments, organizations and businesses around the world.

The main topics discussed at the dialogue session were Vietnam’s new development era; Vietnam’s policy priorities to ensure economic autonomy while continuing to deeply integrate into the global economy; the impacts of geopolitical complexities on Vietnam’s development and Vietnam’s response to strategic competition between major powers…

At the beginning of the dialogue, the WEF Executive Chairman said that this special discussion session had a number of registrants far exceeding the capacity, as "there were still many guests waiting in line outside and the Organizing Committee could not arrange seats in the room".

Vietnam has the foundation and basis for higher growth.

In the first questionMr. Borge Brende assessed that Vietnam is a very fast growing economy - a rare thing in the current global economic context. The world economic growth is expected to decrease to about 2.5% this year, while Vietnam still expects to reach 7-8%.

The coordinator asked the Prime Minister to say, "What is the secret to Vietnam's economic success and how to maintain this growth momentum without falling into complacency?"

The Prime Minister shared that in the context of a clear decline in global growth, Vietnam still sets a growth target of 8% in 2025 and double digits in the coming years, to be able to achieve the goal of becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045.

The Prime Minister affirmed that this requires great effort and is also a challenge in the current context, but Vietnam has the facilities and foundations to do it.

The first, is the belief in the development path based on Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh thought and a culture imbued with national identity, thousands of years of history, creatively applied in Vietnamese conditions and international circumstances.

Mondayis a stable political system under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the management of the State of the people, by the people, for the people, promoting the role of the people as masters, with the view that the people make history, resources originate from thinking, motivation originates from innovation, strength originates from the people.

Tuesdayis the current available internal strength of Vietnam: Economic scale ranked 32nd in the world; in the top 20 countries in terms of trade scale and FDI attraction; GDP per capita in 2024 reaches 4,700 USD, high average level...

Wednesdayis the help of international friends; there is a network of 17 FTAs ​​with major markets and partners such as China, the US, the EU, Japan, Korea, ASEAN...

ThursdayVietnam has also had a lot of experience in facing and overcoming crises and risk factors over the past many years.

According to the Prime Minister, these are the foundations and bases for Vietnam to achieve higher growth rates this year and in the coming years.

Maintain balance based on principles, steadfast in policy

In the second question, the coordinator asked about Vietnam's behavior in the context of fierce strategic competition between major powers, to balance relations between countries.

The Prime Minister said that Vietnam's economy is very open, with a current GDP of nearly 500 billion USD, but total import-export turnover in 2024 will be about 800 billion USD, so a small impact from the outside will also have a big impact. Of which, China and the United States account for nearly 50% of Vietnam's total import-export turnover.

Therefore, Vietnam must have a smart and balanced policy, especially in the face of current geopolitical competition. The Prime Minister stated that Vietnam must be balanced but based on the following principles: Consistently pursuing an independent, self-reliant, multilateral and diversified foreign policy; being a friend, a reliable partner, an active and responsible member of the international community; implementing the "4 no's" defense policy (not participating in military alliances; not allying with one country to fight another; not allowing foreign countries to set up military bases or use Vietnamese territory to fight against other countries; not using force or threatening to use force in international relations).

Vietnam is also diversifying its markets, products, supply chains, and production chains to "be able to cope in case of unforeseen circumstances."

The Prime Minister said that Vietnam is currently doing a good job of maintaining balance in relations between different partners, but is not subjective and always remains calm, persistent, steadfast, and not confused, fearful, or panicked.

The Prime Minister also said that between dialogue and confrontation, Vietnam chooses dialogue. Vietnam is ready to dialogue and cooperate to handle differences and disagreements, ensure harmony of interests and satisfactorily resolve the concerns of partners, countries and the international community. At the same time, we must both fight and cooperate, "whatever can be cooperated must be fully exploited, whatever needs to be fought for must be fought to the end, without sacrificing our core interests".

For example, the United States once had a war and then imposed an embargo on Vietnam, but Vietnam was willing to put the past behind it, respect differences, exploit commonalities, limit disagreements to move toward the future, so the two countries have gone from former enemies to comprehensive strategic partners.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Vietnam is always in a balanced position with confidence and courage, with the spirit of "turning nothing into something, turning difficult into easy, turning impossible into possible", the more pressure, the more effort.

Assessing the answer as "very satisfactory", Mr. Borge Brende said that it was hard to imagine that the United States would become Vietnam's largest export market after many years of war and embargo. "If during the Vietnam War, someone had told you: '50 years from now, when you become Prime Minister, the United States will be our most important export market', how would you have reacted?", the coordinator asked a hypothetical question.

Answering this question, the Prime Minister shared: "We all have to grow up, we all have a past, but we don't live in the past but in the present and the future. Therefore, we choose the best path for the present and the future, exploit the good past, put aside the bad past."

"The maturity of each person depends on many factors, but the important thing is that each person must have the will, live humanely, be kind, and do good things for themselves and for everyone around them. As for position or money, they come and go; the philosophy of life is to be sincere, trustworthy, work hard, always believe, and always hope for a good future," he said.

Be ready to face difficulties and always believe in yourself

Answer the next question about the foundations for Vietnam's current economic developmentThe Prime Minister said that in the 20th century, Vietnam was one of the countries that suffered the most pain and loss in the world. There are still 3 million people affected by Agent Orange, 300,000 people have died and information has not been found; bombs and mines explode every day and every time we do economic projects, we have to clear bombs and mines. Immediately after the war, Vietnam was embargoed.

However, Vietnam did not submit but had to stand up, self-reliant and self-reliant from its own hands, brains, land, sky, and sea. Vietnam shifted from a centralized, bureaucratic, subsidized economy to a market economy with three pillars: (1) eliminating bureaucracy and subsidies; (ii) developing a multi-sector economy, including the private economy; (iii) integration.

Vietnam is determined to build an independent and self-reliant economy associated with active and proactive international integration, in a deep, practical and effective manner, because in the current international context, facing major national, comprehensive and global issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, strategic competition, trade competition, etc., no country can solve them alone.

To do that, Vietnam harmoniously combines internal and external resources, relying on internal resources as fundamental, strategic, long-term, and decisive, including Vietnamese people, Vietnamese nature, and thousands of years of cultural and historical traditions; at the same time, identifying external resources as important, breakthrough, and regular with the cooperation and assistance of international friends and partners in terms of capital, market economic institutions, technology, smart management, and human resource training. "If we only rely on internal resources, it is not stable, and if we rely entirely on external resources, it is even less stable," the Prime Minister emphasized.

Answer questions about future forecasts as well as cooperation and competition in the world in the coming timeThe Prime Minister said that every country, like every person, has good things and bad things; the development process always has conflicts, risks and crises that need to be resolved.

The world today has many difficulties and challenges, but also many opportunities and advantages. The Prime Minister stated that we must resolve difficulties and challenges in the most reasonable and effective way, with the best possible methods. At the same time, we must always put people and events in motion, promote and exploit positive factors to the maximum.

"As I have analyzed, a country has internal and external strength. How can you take advantage of external and internal strength through your foreign policy and economic policy?", the Prime Minister asked.

As it is now, we can renew traditional growth drivers such as investment, export, and consumption, while promoting new growth drivers and models based on science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, green transformation, circular economy, etc. "This is a vast and limitless new horizon when we have innovation, creativity, and especially the right mindset," the Prime Minister emphasized.

"I am very optimistic because resources come from thinking, motivation comes from innovation, strength comes from the people. The decisive factors are time, intelligence and determination. No matter how difficult the world is today or in the coming decades, the problem is that we have the right thinking, methodology, creative application in the conditions and circumstances of each country, placed in the appropriate international context, we all have the best way out possible, still achieving efficiency. Therefore, we are always ready to face difficulties, we do not lack faith, we do not lack hope, we are confident in ourselves, confident in our thinking, intelligence, confident in our determination to overcome difficulties, turn difficulties and challenges into opportunities and advantages, the more pressure we have, the more effort we make to move forward," the Prime Minister said.

WEF Executive Chairman Borge Brende said this was "the perfect ending to an optimistic dialogue - much needed in the current pessimistic context" and shared his wish that "Please be like the Vietnamese Prime Minister: Look at the 'glass half full' instead of 'half empty'".

The dialogue session of the Prime Minister was highly appreciated and warmly welcomed by WEF President Borge Brende as well as the delegates. Immediately after the dialogue session ended, many delegates and international scholars continued to ask questions and the Prime Minister shared about Vietnam's strategic breakthrough reforms in recent times such as institutions, infrastructure, human resources, especially market economic institutions, administrative reform, decentralization, delegation of power, organization of the political system and organization of 2-level local governments.

The sharing of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has conveyed a strong message about a Vietnam that is ready for breakthrough development from thinking, vision to specific actions, creating a solid foundation to bring Vietnam into a new era of development, an era of national growth.

The policy dialogue with the Prime Minister of Vietnam is a highlight of the 16th World Economic Forum Pioneers Annual Meeting. The fact that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is the special guest of this year's National Policy Dialogue with WEF Leaders further affirms the importance that WEF attaches to Vietnam as well as the Prime Minister of Vietnam personally.