In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stressed that Vietnam has gone through 48 days without COVID-19 infections in the community, and most patients have been discharged from hospital.
Vietnam’s performance in the fight against the pandemic has been praised by international news agencies, he said.
The leader lauded cities and provinces like Hanoi, Hung Yen, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh and Dong Nai, among others, for their great efforts to achieve assigned socio-economic development targets.
The domestic tourism sector has also proven its strong vitality last month, he said, adding that aviation and tourism which were severely hit by the pandemic have begun to resume their normal activities.
Thanks to a range of activities adopted by the Government to support production and business, the May indexes are much better than those of April, according to the PM.
This is an opportunity for Vietnam to move ahead in the context of the difficulties and challenges being faced by the world, he said, calling for efforts to optimise this “golden opportunity” while containing the spread of the pandemic.
The PM said major economic balances have been ensured, inflation reduced and people’s living standards improved.
In this session, he went on, the Government will maintain discussions on issues related to socio-economic development and the building of legal institutions, while carefully assessing the risks and challenges that need to be overcome in the time ahead such as drought, hot weather, and the negative impact of the COVID-19 on both economic relations and tourism activities.
The Government leader called for more drastic measures to achieve bigger economic development in the remaining months of 2020, as well as keeping a close watch on the international situation in order to have policies on trade, investment and tourism so as to take advantage of the global shift of investment flows.
He stressed the need to discuss stricter measures to address child abuse, together with those to ensure children’s rights. Localities, social organisations, the Women’s Union and the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union were asked to uphold their responsibilities in caring for and protecting the rights of children.
The price of pork must be also put on table, he stated, emphasising the importance of stabilising it by value chain and by encouraging investment in large-scale husbandry and applying modern technology in production.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, more than 5,000 businesses resumed operations in May 2020, a year-on-year rise of 32.7%.
Growth was seen in the total retail sales of goods and services (26.9%), the index of industrial production (11.2%), and in exports (5.2%).
Revenues from trade activities and services in May rose sharply by 26.9% compared to the previous month, but declined by 4.8% against the same period in 2019.
In January-May, the total retail sales of goods and services saw a year-on-year reduction of 3.9%.
Trade of goods was seriously affected by COVID-19. However, Vietnam still maintained a trade surplus after the first five months of the year, estimated at US$1.9 billion.
The index of industrial production (IIP) expanded by only 1%, the lowest in the past few years.
Meanwhile, the State budget collection in the five-month period reached VND 529.6 trillion (US$ 22.8 billion), equalling 35% of the annual estimate.
