Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc addressed the National Assembly on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam has successfully navigated “the tempestuous sea voyage” with far greater challenges than initially projected in the Government’s 2016-21 tenure, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc said on Wednesday.

In a speech on the works of the Government given to the National Assembly, which opened its final session of the 14th-tenure (2016-21) and is scheduled to elect new leaders of the country for the next five years, the Government leader noted the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic since early 2020, intensifying geopolitical competitions between major powers, increasing financial risks, and fast-changing science and technology landscape.

The Government’s committed focus on improving the institutions to create breakthrough developments, facilitate the operations and resolve the bottlenecks for enterprises and the public, and create an open business environment, was one of the highlights of this tenure, he said, adding that all levels of the political system have been involved in this efforts.

Việt Nam’s internationally recognised pandemic response has ensured the achievement of the double goals – effective containment of outbreaks alongside socio-economic recovery as a means to ensure social welfare and people’s living standards, he said.

The successes in handling the pandemic serve as a testament to the national unity and aspirations of the business community and people in Việt Nam under the leadership of the Communist Party, the PM added.

Infrastructure was one of the major highlights of the Government in the 2016-21 tenure, PM Phúc noted, with 654km of the north-south highway in the works, several highways to boost connectivity in the mountainous northwestern region, the Central Highlands, and the Mekong Delta, expansions of Nội Bài and Tân Sơn Nhất international airports along with the construction of the new Long Thành International Airport, in addition to other capacity enhancements seen in logistics, seaports, and 5G networks.

Economically speaking, Việt Nam’s GDP in 2020 has grown to reach more than US$340 billion.

And despite global downturns, the country posted a growth of 2.91 per cent, the only country in Southeast Asia to record positive growth, Phúc said, adding that the 2016-20’s average growth of 5.99 per cent is still higher than the average 5.91 per cent in the 2011-15 period, putting the country in the group with highest economic expansion in the region and the world.

Total export and import turnover increased 1.7 times, from US$328 billion in 2015, to $517 billion in 2019, and $545 billion in 2020, with five consecutive years of increasing trade surplus, he added.

The Government in this tenure has been persistent with its objective of maintaining macroeconomic stability, keeping inflation under control, and tightening fiscal discipline, which has led to a “sizeable reserve” in the high growth years of 2016-19 to be used in a challenging 2020, he noted.

The Vietnamese Government leader also admitted to five major shortcomings: law building, with many draft law projects still not finished; sluggish equitisation of State-owned enterprises and failure to achieve some of socio-economic targets due to COVID-19 pandemic; instances of lax management of urban planning and land use, along with standing pollution in industrial zones and craft villages; slow progress on administrative streamlining; and toxic and harmful online scams and spam texts, and some drug and traffic accident hot spots.

PM Phúc remained optimistic about the future, stressing that the vision of a prosperous Việt Nam by the middle of 21st century will have onboard people from all classes – from farmers and workers to academia and businesspeople – and that “no one is left behind, and everyone can enjoy the fruits of development and reforms.”

In the report on the State President’s performance in the 2016-21 tenure, Party General Secretary and State President Nguyễn Phú Trọng highlighted that the President has paid special attention to leading and steering Party building work and the building of a pure and strong political system.

He stressed the determination and persistence in the fight against corruption, wastefulness and negative phenomena, which has been carried out in a drastic and effective manner since the tenure began.

Party General Secretary and State President Nguyễn Phú Trọng delivered a report on the State Presidency in the 2016-21 tenure to the National Assembly in Hà Nội on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Phương Hoa

The State President’s work throughout the tenure, together with the entire Party, people, and army, has greatly helped bring into play the patriotic tradition and the great national unity; build a clean and strong Party and political system; comprehensively and uniformly push ahead with the đổi mới (Renewal) process; strengthen the defence - security capacity to firmly safeguard the country’s independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, and sea and island sovereignty; and foster external relations and international integration in an increasingly extensive and intensive manner, thus promoting Việt Nam's profile in the region and the world, according to the leader.

Proposing orientations and tasks for the future, he emphasised that the State President will keep exerting efforts to better perform the tasks regulated by the Constitution and laws, as well as the duties assigned by the Politburo and the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat. — VNS