Socio-economic situation under monthly cabinet review

As part of his opening speech, PM Chinh emotionally shared, "We have gone through July in the infinite sorrow of our compatriots and comrades across the country at the passing of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, an exceptionally outstanding, loyal, and prestigious leader who devoted his entire life to the revolutionary cause of our Party and people."

Cabinet members observed a minute of silence to commemorate the late Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

This comes after August 3 when the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam unanimously elected To Lam to the position of General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee with an absolute 100% vote.

The Government chief reviewed the global situation with positive signs, while pointing out political fluctuations and fierce competition that is occurring between major states.

The socio-economic situation in July continued to enjoy positive trends, achieving better results than in June, with overall the first seven months being better than the same period in most areas. Notably, the direction and management work was basically more experienced, proactive, flexible, appropriate, and closer to reality. Elsewhere, growth was promoted in the three sectors of industry, agriculture, and services; the macro economy was stable coupled with controlled inflation, ensuring major balances; the major economic sectors continued to witness positive changes; many outstanding issues were resolved while social security was ensured.

Greater attention was given to culture, sports, health, education, and training which achieved many good results; aspect such as national sovereignty, political security, and social order and safety were maintained; and foreign affairs were promoted, thus further raising the country's prestige and position.

Along with the achieved results, PM Chinh also frankly acknowledged that there remain limitations, difficulties, and challenges, clearly identifying what has been done, what still exists, and what needs to be implemented more drastically to completely deal with pending issues in August and moving forward.

Reporting at the meeting, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung stated that the socio-economic situation in July and over the past seven months of the year has continued to see positive trends, with many areas in July producing higher results than in June, whilst overall the reviewed period was better than the same period from 2023.

The national economy continued to maintain positive growth momentum in the sectors of agriculture, industry, and services; and agricultural production continued to grow steadily. Industrial production recovered well, up by 0.7% compared to June and by 11.2% compared to the same period from last year. The service sector continued to grow strongly, with total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue surging by 9.4% in July and by 8.7% throughout the seven-month period.

Macroeconomic stability continued, with the consumer price index (CPI) in July soaring by 0.48% compared to June and 4.12% between January and July. Exchange rates and interest rates tended to be stable, energy and food security were ensured; and rice exports in seven months reached 5.18 million tonnes, raking in US$3.27 billion, up 25.1%.

Exports continued to increase strongly with total import-export turnover in July up by 8.7% compared to June and by 21.8% compared to the same period from last year. Imports rose by 18.5% and the trade balance in July recorded a trade surplus of US$2.12 billion, while the past seven months saw the trade surplus hit US$14.08 billion.

The total State budget for the seven-month period reached an estimated 69.8% of the annual estimate, an annual rise of 14.6%. The tourism sector experienced a strong recovery to surpass the same period before the pandemic. International visitors in July and in the seven-month period reached nearly 1.15 million and approximately 10 million, up 51% over the same period in 2023 and up 1.9% from the period before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Notably, remarkable improvements were seen in culture, social affairs, social security, politics, national defence, social order and safety, foreign affairs, and international integration, thus helping to ameliorate people’s living standards and elevate the country's overall prestige and position.

Many international organisations and experts continued to highly appreciate the results and prospects of the Vietnamese economy. The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) raised the nation’s growth forecast for 2024 to 6.3%, while HSBC raised it to 6.5%, and ADB elevated it to 6%.