Hanoi (VNA)🐓 – The Prime Minister has issued Directive No.21/CT-TTg requesting ministries, ministerial-level and centrally-run agencies, as well as localities, economic groups, and State-owned enterprises to build a socio-economic development plan and State budget estimate for 2017.

The Directive figures out the general goals, including macro-economic stability, economic growth, economic restructuring, growth model renovation, higher productivity and competitiveness. It also highlights the importance of ensuring social welfare, taking care of people’s lives; developing culture, democracy, and social equality; effectively responding to climate change and protecting natural resources and the environment. Safeguarding independence, sovereignty and national integrity; maintaining political security and social order; promoting international integration and raising Vietnam ’s position and prestige in the global arena are also among the common targets. The PM ordered continuous measures to guarantee a macro-economic balance and curb inflation. Active, flexible and tight monetary policies will be mixed with fiscal and macro-economic policies, he requested, adding that interest rates will be managed in accordance with the developments of the macro-economy, inflation and the monetary market. The directive sets to build and implement a project on preventing dollarization in the economy and build an appropriate foreign currency market. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to reach 6.8 percent in 2017. Localities need to be based on the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth in the first half of 2016 announced by the General Statistics Office under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as well as on their practical conditions, to forecast GRDP in 2017. At the same time, it is necessary to push ahead with an overall scheme on restructuring the economy in association with a transformation of growth model towards increasing the economy’s quality, effectiveness and competition capacity between 2013 and 2020, focusing on investment restructuring (especially public investment); financial and banking restructuring (particularly credit institutions); and State-run business restructuring. Vietnam will also enhance the implementation of breakthroughs in social-economic development strategy between 2011-2020, including the improvement of market economy institution, business environment and competitiveness, high-quality human resources development, science-technology application, and infrastructure. The PM asked for promoting trade, expanding new markets, beefing up sustainable exports, and fulfilling international commitments within the ASEAN Community, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, and other signed free trade agreements (FTAs). It was suggested that an increase in campaigns encouraging other countries to recognise Vietnam’s market economy status ahead of December 31, 2018, and use dispute settlement mechanisms of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and FTAs to protect the legitimate interests of domestic businesses. Organisations and individuals are encouraged to study and use scientific and technological applications to improve labor productivity. The directive also underlines the development of the social welfare system and the effective implementation of the national target programme on sustainable poverty reduction. It tasks, the enforcing of job generation policies, developing labour export markets, and improving healthcare services. The State budget collection is expected to reach 20-21 percent of GDP in 2017.-VNA