Vietnam aims to not only contain the Covid-19 epidemic, but also maintain high economic growth and stable macro-economic conditions, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at a meeting of the National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council on February 25.

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Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the meeting. Source: VGP.

However, PM Phuc recognized it was a challenging task as Vietnam’s major economic partners are facing economic slowdowns. 

He said the Covid-19 epidemic is causing negative impacts on the global economy while Europe is now being affected, unlike previous forecasts.

Despite initial successes in preventing the spread of the Covid-19, Phuc stated Vietnam is actively in the search for a type of “vaccine” that could halt the downhill trend of the economy and keep the growth momentum from last year.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment in its latest forecast expected Vietnam’s GDP growth to fall to a 7-year low of 5.96% in 2020, significantly lower than the growth target of 6.8% for the year. The country has experienced high economic growth rates of over 7% in the last two years.

However, in a meeting on February 5, PM Phuc said the government would not revise down the GDP growth target in face of new challenges.