Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung delivered the remarkswhile chairing the government’s regular meeting, which convened inHanoi on Feb. 1.
Hung asked all ministries, sectors, cities and provinces to work outtheir own plans with specific measures removing obstacles hinderingproduction and business activities and boosting exports combined withcontrolling imports to reduce trade deficit.
The deputy PM also requested the relevant bodies to ensure thesufficient and timely supply of essential and quality goods for thepeople at reasonable prices, especially ensuring food safety andhygiene in preparations for the upcoming Lunar New Year Festival (Tet).
“Each locality must have responsibility for caring for the lives of thepeople, both materially and spiritually, particularly beneficiaries ofsocial welfare policies and the poor, and not leaving them sufferhunger during the between –crop period,” he said.
Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc reported that inJanuary all sectors and industries recorded high growth rates comparedwith the same period last year.
The industrial sector posted the highest growth as its production valuerose by 28.4 percent year on year, of which the non-state enterprisessaw a 31.1 percent increase.
In January, Vietnam welcomed 416,000 foreign tourists, up 10.6 percentagainst December 2009 and up 20.4 percent from the same period a yearago.
The total number of new telephone subscription reached 4.86 millionduring the month, a year on year rise of 145.3 percent, of which 4.3million were mobile phone subscription.
According to the report, as many as 5,800 businesses were set up inJanuary, a 25 percent rise year on year. Foreign-invested enterprisesdisbursed a total of 400 million USD, a 33.3 percent climb from thesame period in 2009, while the country’s export turnover surged at 28.1percent year on year to reach 4.9 billion USD.
Besides the achievements, Phuc also pointed out outstanding issuesfaced by the country’s economy, including a high rise in the consumerprice index (CPI), at 1.36 percent, and a trade deficit of 1.3 billionUSD, equivalent to 26.5 percent of the total export revenues.
To address these shortcomings, the government urged relevant ministriesand agencies to complete and allocate state budget estimates andcapital sourced from government bonds to the targeted units.
Stepping up industrial development, especially the production of goodsto replace imported ones, and supporting agro-forestry-fisheryproduction are also major tasks for the next months./.