Việt Nam should embrace technological advancement to promote economic growth: VEP forum

The Việt Nam Economic Pulse (VEP) forum was held in Hà Nội on Wednesday. — VNS Photo Hoàng Hà

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam Economic Pulse (VEP) forum was held in Hà Nội on Wednesday under the theme of leveraging technology to foster prosperity in Việt Nam by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

The forum highlighted the importance of science, technology and innovation for middle-income countries like Việt Nam. The participants of this forum discussed directions suitable for Việt Nam’s potential capacity to take advantage of science and technology in economic development.

Educators, scientists, and business leaders shared their perspectives on seizing opportunities, training, and investing in cutting-edge technologies like semiconductors and artificial intelligence, as well as building an innovative and competitive business environment.

Speaking at the forum, the President of the Central Institute for Economic Management Trần Thị Hồng Minh shared: “From forums like this, CIEM has had more information to provide advice for the Ministry of Planning and Investment, for the Government to promulgate many economic development policies, including fundamental policies in forming new economic models in Việt Nam such as the night economy development project, circular economy development project, and sharing economy development project”.

Minh said that the COVID-19 pandemic has been controlled, but it has negatively impacted the world economy in general and the Vietnamese economy in particular.

On the other hand, geopolitical tensions and increasing technical barriers in Việt Nam’s important export markets relating to green products and green production have posed significant challenges for Việt Nam’s economy in 2023 and the following years.

At the forum, CIEM experts said GDP growth in 2023 is estimated at 5.19 per cent, lower than the 8.02 per cent increase in 2022, but this growth rate is higher than that of many countries in the region and the world.

A representative of the CIEM research team, Dr Nguyễn Hữu Thọ, said that the economic growth of each quarter is always expected to be higher than that of the previous quarter. The GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2023 is expected to reach 7.72 per cent, higher than that of 5.23 per cent in the third quarter. Meanwhile, the growth was 4.05 per cent in the second quarter and 3.28 per cent in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, many macroeconomic indicators, such as public investment and foreign investment capital, gained growth.

However, CIEM’s research team also pointed out several difficulties and obstacles affecting Việt Nam’s economic growth in 2023.

They included the quiet performance of the corporate bond market. In the first nine months of 2023, there were only 51 businesses issuing shares worth VNĐ123 trillion in total, down 60.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2022.

The real estate market also fell into a similar situation. There is an excess of products in the high segments but a shortage of products in the affordable segments. Import-export activities still depended heavily on the foreign-invested enterprise sector.

The forecast of economic growth at 5.19 per cent this year does not yet reach the set target of 6.5 per cent, affecting the development roadmap until 2025 and 2030.

Therefore, Minh said, Việt Nam has to make efforts to overcome difficulties and challenges at home and in global markets to achieve a breakthrough in economic growth in 2024 as well as in the coming years. According to him, it needs appropriate policies, operating strategies, and economic development to take advantage of the achievements of Industry 4.0 to overcome the difficulties and challenges.

UNDP Resident Representative Ramla Khalidi, in her opening remarks, said: “Technological innovation, the energy transition and shifts in geopolitical strategies have created historic opportunities for Việt Nam to accelerate economic transformation, penetrate new markets for higher value-added goods and services and increase the sophistication and domestic content of exports.

“Việt Nam’s ability to capitalise on these opportunities will have important implications for the country’s ability to sustain productivity growth at higher level incomes – in other words, to avoid the middle-income trap”.

Launched in 2021 by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and UNDP, the Việt Nam Economic Pulse Forum is an annual event designed to create a new, informal platform for discussing Việt Nam’s economic situation and development policy. The forum aims to stimulate dialogue on economic issues, incorporating a diverse range of voices beyond the conventional spectrum. — VNS