Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc joined leaders of other ASEAN countries at the opening ceremony of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank (WB) Group in Bali, Indonesia yesterday.—VNA/VNS Photo

BALI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc joined leaders of other ASEAN countries at the opening ceremony of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank (WB) Group in Bali, Indonesia yesterday.

Also at the event were finance ministers and central bank governors of 189 member countries of IMF and WB, leaders of international organisations, representatives of many enterprises and social organisations, and researchers from around the world.

Themed “Harnessing disruption to shape inclusive economies of the future”, the annual meetings are scheduled to discuss emerging issues in the global economy, such as the impact of trade wars on international and regional economic growth prospects; financial and monetary policy coordination; as well as the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on economic growth, financial stability, employment, and social equality and progress.

At the event, the IMF released the World Economic Outlook Update, predicting a global economic growth rate at 3.7 per cent in 2018 and 2019 due to the slowdown in some key economies under the influence of the tightened monetary policy in the US, escalating trade tensions, and growing oil prices.

Addressing the opening session, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and WB Group President Jim Yong Kim called on countries to improve resilience in their economies; promote structural reforms; support multilateralism; oppose protectionism; enhance global cooperation; reduce global imbalances; and make use of the Industry 4.0 to serve sustainable, equal, and inclusive development.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuân Phúc met with Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde in Bali, Indonesia.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the IMF-World Bank Group in Bali.
PM Phúc highlighted Việt Nam’s socio-economic achievements in 2018, especially the stable macro-economy, controlled inflation, annual economic growth rate of some 7 per cent and high trade surplus in the last nine months.
He affirmed that the Vietnamese Government is pushing ahead with economic restructuring, growth model reform, fiscal consolidation, public debt control, prudent and flexible financial-monetary policies, business climate improvement, development of the private economic sector, innovation encouragement, and improvement of capacity to join in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
He hailed the IMF’s support for Việt Nam’s socio-economic development policies and its advice about how to stabilise the macro-economy, promote economic growth and ensure social welfare.
The leader also welcomed the IMF’s positive evaluation of the country’s economic situation and prospect, asking the organisation to continue providing Việt Nam with policy advice about economic restructuring, growth model reform, improvement of financial-banking systems and utilisation of the Industry 4.0 in the financial sector.
For her part, Lagarde praised the Vietnamese PM’s speech at the ASEAN Leaders’ Gathering on the sidelines of the IMF-WB annual meetings, noting that it introduced many concrete and practical proposals and initiatives.
She suggested Việt Nam press ahead with restructuring, increase investment in education and healthcare, control public debt, step up fiscal consolidation, control exchange rates flexibly and actively integrate into the world.
The Managing Director affirmed that the IMF will continue assisting Việt Nam to maintain macroeconomic stability and bolster its economic growth to achieve sustainable and inclusive development goals.
She also appreciated the country’s contributions to the IMF’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust. — VNA