A new economic recovery plan in new normalcy should be put into motion right in October, along with an overall strategy for safe and flexible adaptation to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the meeting. Photo: Nhat Bac

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh gave the remarks at a monthly government meeting on October 3, saying the plan would serve as the basis for provinces/cities to pursue the twin goal of both containing the pandemic and boosting socio-economic development.

Chinh expected consistent and flexible management of both monetary and fiscal policies to stabilize macroeconomic conditions and support growth.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment is tasked with working with localities to speed up the disbursement of ODA funds.

“Government agencies are responsible for drafting new stimulus packages to channel the capital flows into priority fields, raise the threshold of public debt and ensure economic stability,” Chinh said.

Meanwhile, provinces/cities should turn to instruction from the central government in managing the movement of goods to avoid different interpretations of the policies and inconveniences for businesses.

“It is imperative to put in place measures for the soon resumption of industrial parks and economic zones, along with addressing difficulties of enterprises in fulfilling orders in anticipation of the peak shopping season in Europe, US, or East Asia,” he said.

“Government agencies at all levels need to further simplify administrative procedures by applying IT in operation,” Chinh added.

According to Chinh, in the past months, Vietnam has sacrificed economic gains to concentrate on the fight against the pandemic, “the country, therefore, would spare no efforts in speeding up economic recovery for the remainder of the year and laying the foundation for a stronger rebound in 2022.”

At the meeting, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung noted that the Government’s initiative in easing restriction measures has sent a positive signal to the business community, saying 70% of enterprises in the manufacturing and processing sector are optimistic about improvements in their performance for the remainder of the year.

Dung said the pressure on the Government to resume business activities is huge, but an effective Covid-19 containment is a decisive factor to accelerate economic growth.

Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said to date, over 18 million people have received financial support from the Government worth VND14.9 trillion ($655.8 million).

For the next 45 days, Dung expected more than 12.8 million workers would receive cash support from the Unemployment Insurance fund worth VND30 trillion ($1.32 billion), the latest support program kicked off on October 1.