Pressure viewed as driving force for economy to move forward into new era: workshop

According to the latest macroeconomic report released by the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) at the event, Vietnam’s impressive economic growth las year provides a solid foundation for the country to move into a new development stage.

For the entire year of 2024, Vietnam's GDP growth reached 7.09%, while industrial production rebounded positively, with the Industrial Production Index (IIP) rising 8.4%, significantly higher than the 1.3% increase in 2023.

In particular, labour productivity has risen by approximately 5.88%, surpassing the target growth of 4.8-5.3% set by the National Assembly for 2024.

Nguyen Anh Duong, head of the General Research Department at CIEM, emphasizes that labour productivity is a key factor that needs to be leveraged going forward. Labour productivity, and more broadly, economic productivity in terms of capital and technology, will drive the three pillars of integration, innovation, and reform in the coming period.

The report identifies key challenges to economic growth in 2025, including possible slow global economic growth. It says Vietnam needs to quickly develop a suitable approach to keep up with the rapid advancement of new technologies. It must promptly define quality criteria for projects that align with the economy’s development direction to continue attracting quality and effective FDI. Furthermore, achieving high growth is meaningful only if it doesn’t lead to high inflation pressures.

“We have frankly identified numerous difficulties and challenges, such as the risk of falling into the middle-income trap, factors that create new drivers for growth model innovation, and enhancing competitiveness,” said Dr. Tran Thi Hong Minh, director of the CIEM.

“With this mindset, these challenges can become 'positive pressures' that push Vietnam to more decisively implement fundamental economic reforms, focusing on innovation, creativity, and integration so that the economy can achieve its growth goals for 2025 and the following decades,” she explained.  

CIEM experts recommended that the Vietnamese economy seize several important opportunities in the year ahead. Accordingly, it should accelerate the structural transformation of the economy towards increasing industries, activities, and products with higher added value and technological content. It should continue improving foreign direct investment to expand economic growth space through technology transfer. And, it should significantly boost labor productivity through institutional reforms, including improving the bureaucracy and streamlining administrative procedures.