Ensuring the successful implementation of party resolution (03/9)
03/09/2013 - 11 Lượt xem
After
more than two years and seven months since the 11th National Party
Congress closed on January 19, 2011, Vietnam has seen results from
implementing the congress’ resolution. Apart from favorable conditions,
it has to cope with big challenges.
People
who work in the industry and trade sector can be happy with the results
of foreign trade activities. The resolution’s foreign trade targets set
for the 2011-2015 period include a 12 percent annual export value
growth, a lower trade deficit, and a balance between import and export
by 2020.
Reality
showed that the export value grew 25.8 percent per annum in 2011-2012
and 14.7 percent in the first eight months of 2013 compared with the
same period last year. In 2011, Vietnam had a trade deficit of US$9.5
billion, but in 2012, it had a trade surplus. Although the trade surplus
of 2012 was not high, it was an encouraging result because in the past
there had been a year when Vietnam had a trade deficit amounting to
US$18 billion. Since the beginning of this year, the situation of
foreign trade has changed on a monthly basis (in July there was a trade
surplus, and in August, there was a trade deficit of US$500-600
million).
Agriculture
has well played its role as a support for the Vietnamese economy. The
resolution’s targets for the agricultural sector in the 2011-2015 period
include a 2.6-3 percent annual agricultural added value growth and a
17-18 percent contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP)
by 2015. Reality showed that the agricultural added value grew by an
average 3.35 percent per annum in 2011-2012 and an estimated 2.07
percent in the first eight months of 2013 compared with the same period
last year. So, even if the agricultural results of 2013 are lower than
those of last year, the annual GDP growth of the agricultural, forestry
and fishery sectors in the 2011-2013 period will be higher than the set
target (2.92 percent). However, in 2012, agriculture, forestry and
fisheries accounted for 21.65 percent of Vietnam’s GDP, meaning that it
will not be easy to reduce this percentage to 17-18 percent by 2015.
While
foreign trade and agriculture showed positive changes, industry and
construction results did not meet the resolution’s expectations. Under
the resolution, the added value of the industrial and construction
sectors was expected to grow 7.8-8 percent per annum from 2011-2015 and
these two sectors are expected to contribute 41-42 percent to Vietnam’s
GDP by 2015. But in fact, in 2011-2012 and the first eight months of
this year, the GDP growth of the industrial and construction sectors
remained low (over five percent). Notably, in the first half of 2013,
the two sectors created a mere 38.7 percent of the country’s GDP,
according to the General Statistics Office.
The
resolution indicated the necessity of reducing the per-capita GDP gap
between Vietnam and other countries in the region and all over the
world. Official statistics show that Thailand’s per-capita GDP of 2005,
calculated based on current prices, was US$2,644, more than 3.77 times
higher than that of Vietnam (US$700). In 2011, Thailand’s per-capita GDP
reached US$4,973, more than 3.3 times higher than that of Vietnam
(US$1,517). Clearly, the gap remained almost unchanged.
Under
the resolution, high-tech products and products using high technologies
are expected to account for 35 percent of Vietnam’s GDP by 2015.
Vietnam still has to go a long way to reach this target.
Vietnam
has just more than two years left to realize the economic objectives
set in the resolution of the 11th National Party Congress. This requires
Vietnam to implement heavy tasks.
The
leaders of the Communist Party, the National Assembly and the
Government have taken strong measures to implement many resolutions. But
in the opinion of many economists, they must concentrate on ensuring
the successful implementation of the 11th National Party Congress’
resolution which includes the Socioeconomic Development Plan for 2013
and further, the 10-year Socioeconomic Development Strategy for the
2011-2020 period./.
Dr. Luu Tien Hai, former Deputy Director of
the External Economic Relations Department of
the Central Party Committee’s Economic Commission
Source: VEN.
Source: VEN.
