Workers make clothes for export at the Đức Giang Textile Garment company Limited based in Hà Nội's Long Biên district. — VNA/VNS Photo Trần Việt

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng revisited the themes of macroeconomic stability and sustainable development yesterday as he urged a concerted effort to reach future growth targets.

In a first quarter review meeting with various departments, agencies and businesses, he also stressed the importance of maintaining trade balance and keeping inflation for the year to under four per cent.

The Deputy PM emphasised the need for increased productivity and efficiency in the oil and gas industry and greater support for the textile and footwear industry, given its high localisation rate and potential for employment generation as well as greater market penetration.

The domestic car industry and electronic parts manufacturing should also receive encouragement to better integrate into the global value chain, he said.

He reiterated the importance of geographical identification in boosting export value for made-in-Viet Nam products, saying this would also boost product quality and their domestic market share.

Hoàng Quốc Vượng, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade (MoIT), gave an assurance that his ministry would work closely with companies and business associations to resolve difficulties that they were facing.

Vượng also asserted that the oil industry’s current goal of exploiting an additional one million tonnes of natural gas this year is feasible with adequate effort.

He said mining industries need a broader market share at home and abroad for better returns, while the electricity sector and other manufacturing industries would be driven by the nation’s economic growth.

Diệp Thành Kiệt , Deputy Director of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbags Association, said that the footwear industry would continue to focus on its main import markets in the United States and in Europe without leaning towards any particular one towards ensuring a balanced export turnover.

Dũng asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to focus on restructuring the agriculture sector towards tackling climate change challenges, minimizing natural disaster impacts and generating higher product values.

Nguyễn Xuân Cường, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, responded that the ministry would focus on improving domestic agricultural value chain and food safety.

Despite the agricultural sector’s poor performance in the first three months of 2017, recording a 2.05 per cent growth rate, Cường was confident that the targeted growth rate of 2.5 to 2.8 per cent for 2017 would be achieved.

His ministry would collaborate with foreign chambers of commerce to expand Việt Nam’s export markets, with particular attention to China, India and other ASEAN countries as trade partners with the highest growth potential, Cường said.

The Deputy PM called for more precise and effective policy frameworks to attract investment for infrastructure construction, mainly for transportation, energy and real estate sectors.

He asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment to work with the MoIT and the General Statistics Office to clearly define growth strategies and monitor their implementation in each and every sector under their purview.

The corporate sector, meanwhile, should take all possible economic scenarios into account in drawing up its own growth plans, he said.

Other points of interest mentioned by the Deputy PM included the need for regular, detailed research, quarter on quarter and year on year, on market demand and growth forecasts for domestic industries, particularly those with high added value. — VNS