Addressing a global forum on emerging markets in Hanoi on June 30, Minister Phuc pledged to speed up administrative reform, complete the legal system, upgrade the socio-economic infrastructure, intensify human resources development, expand the social security network and achieve a sustainable rate of poverty reduction.

“With its great efforts, Vietnam would record higher economic growth rates in the next 10 years and will become an average income economy in the world by 2020,” emphasized Mr Phuc.

Over the past 20 years of renewal, Vietnam - an emerging market economy - has “reaped bigger fruits than ever before,” and gained a high ranking in the world with its annual gross domestic product growth staying at 7.5 percent on average, he added.

The country has turned from a food importer into the world second largest rice exporter. Its export revenues were multiplied by 60 times from US$789 million in 1986 to over US$48.5 billion in 2007. FDI attraction and ODA commitments reached the record levels of US$21.3 billion and US$5.4 billion, respectively, last year.

The national standard rate of poverty has been reduced from 58 percent to 29 percent, achieving the global target for poverty alleviation set by the United Nations five years ahead of time. The nation’s human development index released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has also ranked high in comparison with other developing countries having the same per-capita incomes.