Positive prospects for Vietnam in 2008

Looking back over 2007, Vietnam painted a rosy picture with the country achieving a 10-year record economic growth rate of 8.5 percent, exports bringing in more than US$48.3 billion, and foreign direct investment capital reaching more than US$20 billion – a huge jump since the former Law on Foreign Investment came into effect in 1988. Overseas remittances by Vietnamese nationals through official channels were also estimated to have reached a record high of US$6 billion. At the annual Consultative Group Meeting in December, donors committed a total of US$5.426 billion in aid to Vietnam, the highest figure to date, showing their trust in Vietnam’s development policies.

These are good signals for the country, which spared no effort to overcome many difficulties and challenges to maintain stability and development in every sector. This is the second consecutive year in the 2006-2010 development plan that Vietnam has achieved the impressive growth in many fields.

It is worth mentioning that in 2007 Vietnam’s position in the global arena was constantly raised and it was acknowledged internationally as a country with political stability and the highest economic growth in the region. One year after it joined the World Trade Organisation, these achievements show that Vietnam is on the right track.

2007 saw the country expanding its external affairs, with many overseas visits by senior Party and State leaders and reciprocal visits by foreign leaders. Vietnam being the only Asian candidate for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and its landslide victory in the October 16 election with 96 votes in favour indicate that the international community trusts Vietnam’s capability to solve global issues and to maintain peace and security. It is an honour and big responsibility for Vietnam to contribute to humankind’s common struggle for the sake of peace, national independence, prosperity, democracy and social progress.

High economic growth helps to maintain socio-political stability and improve people’s living conditions, particularly in the rural, mountainous and far-flung areas.

Vietnam is a big success story in poverty reduction, which can be replicated in other countries in the world, says the newly elected World Bank President Robert Zoellick when talking about the country’s achievements on poverty reduction. He says that the Vietnamese Government has spared no effort to ensure that not only the cities but rural and isolated areas can also enjoy the country’s achievements in socio-economic development. By the end of 2007, the rate of poor households in Vietnam had dropped to 15.15 percent.

A peaceful and stable country with a friendly and openhearted people like Vietnam is regarded as a “peaceful bay amidst rough seas”. Vietnam was and is an attractive destination for foreign tourists. For the first time, foreign arrivals in 2007 surpassed the four million mark, and this figure is expected to increase considerably in 2008.

However, Vietnam is coping with many big challenges that it failed to overcome in 2007. They were the long and tough fight against corruption, weaknesses in management, the high inflation rate, and the soaring price of consumer goods. The consumer price index in 2007 rocketed to 12.63 percent – the highest level for the past 12 years. There were also natural calamities, epidemics and serious workplace accidents, causing great human and material losses.

Though it is not all rosy for Vietnam, the achievements made in 2007 are expected to bode well for the country in 2008, with its ambitious goals, including securing a GDP growth rate of 9 percent.