Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc chairs the Government's regular meeting on Wednesday. —VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc ordered the health, tourism and diplomatic sectors to study and issue a 'vaccine passport' mechanism in order to promote trade and investment while addressing the Government’s regular meeting on Wednesday.

The government leader demanded the health sector submit a plan on the matter as soon as possible.

Assessing the implementation of the socio-economic development plan in the first three months of the year, the PM said the country witnessed better outcomes in both production and business with many economic indicators continuing to grow in the context that the COVID-19 pandemic has been kept under control.

Accordingly, the nation’s GDP expanded 4.8 per cent in the first quarter, while the State budget revenue increased by over 30.1 per cent. The country enjoyed a trade surplus of over US$2 billion.

The country has fulfilled the dual goals of containing the COVID-19 pandemic and boosting production and business, he said, attributing the positive results to the engagement of the entire political system and especially the leadership of the Party.

The PM also noted that Việt Nam's diplomatic achievements were confirmed and the country's international prestige enhanced.

He asked for more efforts in preventing COVID-19, promoting bilateral trade and investment, while stressing the need to build plans of action to implement the resolution of the 13th National Party Congress.

The Prime Minister instructed the Defence Ministry to continue to tighten border management to effectively combat illegal entry in order to prevent COVID-19 from entering Việt Nam.

He asked the finance ministry to strengthen budget discipline and cut spending, while the banking sector was required to do better in curbing inflation and minimise bad debt.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade should pay more attention to promoting the sales of agricultural products for farmers, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was tasked with directing the prevention of drought and salinity, he said.

PM Phúc told the Ministry of Transport to continue promoting key projects, especially ensuring that the Trung Lương - Mỹ Thuận expressway project is completed in June as scheduled. — VNS