Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (standing), head of Sub-committee on Socio Economic Affairs of the 13th National Party Congress, chairs the sub-committee's meeting on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has asked the Socio-Economic Sub-committee preparing for the 13th National Party Congress to adjust growth targets in the draft development strategy as the country has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Sub-committee on Socio-Economic Affairs of the 13th National Party Congress held its sixth plenary session on Friday chaired by PM Phúc to receive feedback of experts on completing drafts for the 2021-30 socio-economic development strategy and the 2021-25 socio-economic development plan.

The plans will be submitted to the national Party congress which is scheduled to take place in the first quarter of next year.

PM Phúc noted the sub-committee should make changes to targets on economic growth and average income per capita in the ‘new normal’ context. The sub-committee should also make careful consideration on breakthrough strategies, especially the role of science and technology, human resource training, promoting autonomy, adaptability and resilience of the economy.

He asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry and Finance to carefully study State budget, public investment and financial targets and focus on promoting investment to assist the compiling of the 2021-25 draft public investment plan.

The draft plans on socio-economic development to be submitted to the Party Congress must include assessments of COVID-19 impacts on all sectors in 2020, 2021 and 2022 as well as impacts on the whole 2016-20 period and orientations for 2021-25, he said.

PM Phúc urged restructuring the national economy with growth model innovation and digital economic development. He highlighted the necessity to set up new business models in the ‘new normal’.

“The new, fast-growing and complex trends which are both opportunities and challenges in all highly competitive sectors need to be mentioned in the reports on the 2021-30 socio-economic development strategy and the five-year development orientations for 2021-25,” he said.

Phúc said the COVID-19 pandemic created an economic crisis all over the world, which was more serious than the impacts of the 1929-33 period, leading to social crises such as unemployment and social instability. As a deeply-integrated country, Việt Nam had also been heavily affected.

In the second quarter of this year, national growth reached only 0.36 per cent, the lowest level in the past 30 years. The growth rate for the first half was only 1.81 per cent.

Despite difficulties, a number of sectors witnessed positive growth such as trade surplus of more than US$10 billion and agricultural production has been good and maintained the export target of $41-42 billion for the whole year.

The Prime Minister directed sectors and localities to propose mechanisms and policies to continue supporting people and businesses and develop socio-economic recovery strategies.

The sub-committee agreed on the topic of the socio-economic development strategy, according to which, Việt Nam aims to become a developing country with a modern industrial sector and be an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and strives to be a developed country with modern industries and high income by 2045.

The sub-committee also agreed with the proposal made by the draft plans’ editorial team in adding content related to developing culture and society, implementing social justice progress, strengthening national defence and ensuring national security. — VNS