Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính chaired the August cabinet meeting on Saturday in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on Saturday asked ministries, agencies and localities to implement priority tasks and solutions in order to spur growth this year and 2025, making up for the sluggishness in the previous years due to COVID-19 impacts.

Chairing a regular Cabinet meeting in Hà Nội, the PM said the socio-economic situation in the first eight months of this year was better than that in the corresponding time last year across spheres, creating development momentum for the time ahead.

Pointing to both opportunities and challenges in the future amidst global uncertainties, the leader asked ministries, agencies, and localities to make greater efforts, and put in place suitable response policies, and flexible solutions to fulfil tasks set by the Party and the State, and quickly handle emerging issues.

The Government leader urged the State Bank of Việt Nam to focus on stabilise exchange rates, reducing lending interest rates, facilitating credit access by residents and businesses, and pushing ahead with the social housing credit package.

Ministries and agencies need to concertedly implement solutions to control inflation, and work to ensure market and price stability, especially the prices of oil and gas, essential goods, housing, and food, he said, adding that education fees and prices of electricity, education and medical examination and treatment services should not increase simultaneously.

The Government leader assigned specific tasks to the ministries of finance, planning and investment, transport, industry and trade, and construction, stressing the need to renew traditional growth drivers while promoting new engines such as digital transformation, innovation, and science-technology.

More attention should be paid to socio-culture-environment affairs, he said, highlighting the need to keep a close watch on developments of natural disasters, especially the approaching super typhoon Yagi.

He said the Government has established a task force in the northern port city of Hải Phòng to instruct the storm prevention and control work, and that a number of ministers and deputy ministers have been dispatched to localities, especially coastal cities and provinces, to join the effort.

The Ministry of Transport needs to focus on accelerating the progress on three railway lines connecting with China and reporting to competent authorities on the North-South high-speed railway and some urban railway lines in Hà Nội and HCM City, as directed by the Prime Minister.

The PM also touched upon the fight against corruption and other negative phenomena, external affairs, the utilisation of the reached free trade agreements and the acceleration of negotiations for new ones, along with the communications work.

It was reported at the meeting that the country’s socio-economic situation saw improvements in August and the eight-month span. Notably, the number of international tourists to Vietnam in the eight months reached nearly 11.4 million, up 45.8 per cent year-on-year.

Total state budget revenue in the January-August period fulfilled 78.5 per cent of the estimate, a year-on-year rise of 17.8 per cent, and public investment disbursement met 40.49 per cent of the plan. The country also attracted US$20.52 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), while FDI disbursement reached $14.15 billion, up 8 per cent, the highest over the past five years. — VNS