Nguyễn Chí Dũng, Minister of Investment and Planning, speaks to Việt Nam News Agency on the imperative need to accelerate economic activities to ensure the five year plan (2016-2020) results in success.

Do you have any comments on the remarkable progress our national economy recorded in 2018?

I’m very happy with the achievements Việt Nam gained last year. Key factors helping us to achieve such economic progress are attributed to the Party and Government’s guidelines and policies.

I’m confident that in 2019, we’ll continue to achieve remarkable socio-economic success. Though many difficulties and challenges are still ahead, with firm confidence in the Party and Government’s policies, we will achieve many more successes in 2019 compared to those of 2018. I’m confident that with concerted efforts from people of all walks of life, this year will be a successful one for Việt Nam.

GDP growth in 2018 was the highest in the last 11 years. Do you have any comment on such a big achievement?

I still remember at the start of 2018, the Government laid emphasis on the need to take a big step forward as the national economy had integrated deeper and deeper internationally. This was the reason Việt Nam had to try harder to match other nations in the region and around the world.

That was the driving force for Việt Nam to exert its efforts to achieve all targets set by the National Assembly for 2018. As a result, I can say that Việt Nam’s economic picture in 2018 was very positive with GDP growth of 7.08 percent – the highest level in 11 years. What’s more important is that the achievement is comprehensive in all fields and sectors.

Worthy of note is that in 2018, our primary industry – the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector – scored a growth rate of 3.76 percent, the highest in many years. Also in 2018, the agriculture sector earned US$7.2 billion from exports – the highest figure so far. Meanwhile, the disbursement in the FDI sector reached a remarkable figure of over US$19 billion.

According to the World Bank, Việt Nam is among countries achieving the highest GDP growth in 2018.

What’s more important, this is the first time Việt Nam has surpassed China in the international ranking.

In my opinion the most impressive point for our national economy is that the resistance of our economy has jumped significantly in the international ranking.

Though we faced many ups and downs in the global economic situation, we were still able to achieve a high and stable growth rate. In addition, the autonomy of our national economy has improved considerably.

What challenges will the Vietnamese economy face in 2019?

Many difficulties and challenges lie ahead, particularly with the global economic experiencing some instability.

It is projected that in 2019, the world will experience a slow growth rate, including in international trade. It is projected that the growth of the US and Chinese economies will also slow down compared to previous years.

Such issues will have big impacts on our country. Additionally, the Sino-US trade war will also have a negative impact on our economy.

Though we have achieved remarkable progress in economic development, our economy remains small with low competitiveness and productivity. Economic reforms are also at an early stage.

Furthermore, climate change, natural calamities and epidemics are still hanging over our economy.

Việt Nam has set a target of 6.8 per cent in GDP growth this year. How can we achieve that?

Việt Nam’s achievements in 2018 demonstrated the country’s economic resilience, thanks to strong growth in its exports, processing and manufacturing industries.

Inflation was kept under 4% while the FDI disbursement saw an increase with many new enterprises established.

This year is very important for the country to achieve its five year national economic plan in the period 2016-2020 and a firm foundation for the up coming 10 years socio-economic programme towards a goal of a prosperous Việt Nam.

The Prime Minister has called for more widespread reforms to obtain targets set for 2019 with the motto ‘Discipline, Integrity, Action, Creativity, Effectiveness,’ of which the creativity is the key.

Việt Nam officially became the 7th member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on January 14. This is very important factor for the country to expand and develop its market.

What I want to emphasis is the flow of global investment funds will experience a big change in 2019, and ASEAN and Việt Nam remain lucrative and attractive venues for investors. _VNS