Opening of the Economic Forum

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue delivered the opening speech at the Forum.

The forum was jointly organized by the Economic Committee of the National Assembly, the Central Economic Committee, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics , and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.

The forum was chaired by members of the Politburo: National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue; Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Political Academy and Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council Nguyen Xuan Thang; Head of the Central Economic Committee Tran Tuan Anh; and Standing Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man.

Party Central Committee Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai; and Party Central Committee member and Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai co-chaired the Forum.

The 2023 Vietnam Economic and Social Forum was attended by current and former leaders of the Party and State, including: former Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan; Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai; and Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan. The program was also attended by members of the Central Committee of the Party, alternate members of the Central Committee, heads of departments, ministers, heads of central agencies, leaders of central ministries and agencies, secretaries of provincial and city Party committees, and National Assembly delegations from provinces and centrally-administered cities.

On the international side, there were Jochen Schmittmann, Head of the International Monetary Fund's Representative Office in Vietnam and Laos; Jonathan R. Pincus, Senior Economist for the United Nations Development Programme; representatives from the International Labour Organization's Asia-Pacific region; the World Bank; and the Ambassadors of the Russian Federation, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Singapore.

Held annually, the Forum is an important way to bring together and widely promote the intellect, dedication, and responsibility of National Assembly deputies, the people, voters, experts, scientists, and domestic and foreign businesses and entrepreneurs to contribute to important national issues and the National Assembly's decisions.

A view of the opening session of the 2023 Economic and Social Forum.

In his opening remarks at the Forum, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue assessed that the 2021-2025 term has passed its halfway point amidst complex and unpredictable global developments. Many countries around the world have recorded negative growth rates, and Vietnam's GDP growth in 2021 was also the lowest in many years.

In that context, the Chairman of the National Assembly stated that at the 2021 Socio-Economic Forum, the National Assembly's agencies coordinated with relevant agencies to clearly identify the current situation, forecast risks, and promptly submit to the National Assembly Resolution No. 43/2022/QH15 on fiscal and monetary policies to support the socio-economic recovery and development program.

Furthermore, the resolutions approving the investment in six key national projects in the first year of the 15th National Assembly's term created momentum, strengthened confidence, and provided additional strength to realize the Party's wise policies and guidelines, contributing to Vietnam's strong recovery in 2022.

“The macroeconomic situation is stable, inflation is under control, and GDP growth in 2022 reached 8.02%, the highest in over 10 years. Production and business activities have recovered positively in all three economic sectors…”, the Chairman of the National Assembly summarized.

Building on the successes of the 2021 Forum, many policy proposals and suggestions at the 2022 Socio-Economic Forum have been researched and selected in a timely manner during the policy-making and refinement process.

Discussion session at the Forum

"Thanks to the correct, timely, and unprecedented policies and solutions over the past period, under the decisive, coordinated, and effective leadership and direction of the Central Committee of the Party, the Politburo, and the Secretariat, along with the support and supervision of the National Assembly and the decisive management of the Government, overall, in the first half of the term, Vietnam has basically overcome difficulties and challenges in the face of 'headwinds' and achieved many important and fairly comprehensive results," the Chairman of the National Assembly affirmed.

According to the Speaker of the National Assembly, the economy has maintained its growth momentum and is a bright spot "in the gloomy picture" of the global economy.

While acknowledging the significant achievements made in the past period, the Speaker of the National Assembly noted that the economy is still facing many difficulties and challenges.

Economic growth in the first six months of 2023 reached only 3.72%, nearly the lowest in the past 12 years, creating immense pressure on GDP growth for the remaining two quarters of the year. "Achieving the growth targets for 2023, the five-year period 2021-2025, and the entire strategic period 2021-2030 has become extremely difficult," the National Assembly Chairman stated.

Notably, many of the key drivers of economic growth in the first eight months of 2023 are showing signs of slowing down, or even declining, and are under significant external pressure.

"The country is facing many difficulties and challenges, with many new developments emerging that are more intense and severe than anticipated," the Speaker of the National Assembly warned.

Domestically, the resilience of many businesses has been eroded, many orders have been cut, and production and business operations are facing difficulties, especially in terms of output markets. Cash flow, capital mobilization, administrative procedures, and pressure from market and partner demands for sustainable development are increasing.

The labor market is facing difficulties as businesses have to reduce working hours and shifts. Domestically, there are not many strong, large-scale economic groups that can act as leading forces, guiding and organizing domestic supply chains and production ecosystems.

Businesses are mostly small, medium, and micro-sized, with low production technology and heavy reliance on imported inputs.

The inherent capacity, autonomy, and resilience of businesses and the economy remain limited and have become increasingly evident in the face of adverse impacts from the global economic and political situation since the beginning of this term.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and delegates visit the exhibition booths introducing the Socio-Economic Forum.

Emphasizing that these issues are both fundamental and long-term, as well as timely and urgent, the Speaker of the National Assembly stated that immediate short-term solutions are needed, along with fundamental solutions with a long-term strategic vision.

Based on the experiences gained from crises, difficulties, and challenges, the Speaker of the National Assembly affirmed the importance and decisive role of domestic strength and self-reliance in economic development.

The Chairman of the National Assembly stated that strengthening endogenous capacity and creating growth momentum is an objective, essential, and urgent requirement to ensure continuity, stability, and sustainability, helping the country seize opportunities, overcome challenges, unlock resources, withstand external shocks and crises, and at the same time help the economy grow and move towards sustainable development.

“One of the most important lessons is to build and promote strong internal capacity to respond to the challenges and uncertainties of external factors,” the Speaker of the National Assembly reiterated, adding that we need to strengthen and promote “internal capacity,” and effectively utilize and exploit “external forces” to adapt and develop. This is considered a top priority and a continuous task, especially in the new context and situation with many fluctuations and increasing risks.

The Speaker of the National Assembly requested that speakers and delegates participating in the exchange and discussion keep it concise, focused, and directly address the core and key issues, proposing specific and practical solutions.

Suggesting topics for discussion, the Chairman of the National Assembly noted that the discussions at the Forum should focus on addressing three major issues: forecasting the economic and financial context of the region and the world; and identifying opportunities, risks, and challenges for the Vietnamese economy in 2023, 2024, and the subsequent period.

Secondly, what is the current socio-economic situation, the main difficulties, challenges, bottlenecks, and the resilience of the economy, businesses, and workers? What are the forecasts for 2023, 2024, and the entire five-year period from 2021 to 2025?

Thirdly, what are the endogenous capacities, driving forces, and fundamental solutions to remove bottlenecks, unlock resources, strengthen internal capabilities, and create momentum for socio-economic growth and development in 2023, 2024, and for the entire 2021-2025 term?

Continuing the program, the Forum proceeded with the first thematic session on the topic "Strengthening internal capacity, unlocking resources, and supporting businesses to overcome difficulties," co-chaired by the Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee, Vu Hong Thanh, and the Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Political Academy, Le Van Loi. The discussion focused on removing obstacles to production and business, particularly emphasizing the challenges faced by businesses, their ability to absorb capital, fiscal policy, monetary policy, and other policies that help businesses overcome difficulties and enhance their endogenous capacity.

According to the program, the 2023 Socio-Economic Forum will take place over one day, including an opening session, a plenary discussion, and two thematic sessions.

In addition to the main venue at the National Convention Center (Hanoi), the 2023 Socio-Economic Forum was also connected online to six other locations nationwide, including: the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and five universities: Fulbright University Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics, Foreign Trade University, Academy of Finance, National Economics University, and Da Nang University.

TUNG QUANG; Photo: XUAN TRAN

Source: http://www.baovanhoa.vn/chinh-tri/thoi-su/artmid/564/articleid/69162/khai-mac-dien-dan-kinh-te-xa-hoi-viet-nam-nam-2023