Since April 30, 1975, which marked the liberation of South Vietnam, the country has been entering a new era of building a civilized and modern nation with its economy developing strongly in the process of international integration.

Vietnam’s entry to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2007 is testimony to the Vietnamese economy’s participation in the global playing field on an equal footing with other countries.

After 20 years of implementing the Doi Moi (Renewal) process, Vietnam has made a breakthrough to become an economy with an average annual growth rate of between 7-8 percent without relying on foreign aid.

From a planned economy, Vietnam has gradually developed a market economy along with the formation of key economic sectors such as mechanical engineering, shipbuilding, telecommunications, metallurgy and crude oil production and the establishment of many industrial parks and export processing and high-tech zones in provinces and cities across the country.

After the eventful day of April 30, 1975, HCM City has emerged as the country’s biggest industrial city, with an average annual economic growth rate of more than 13 percent over the past decade. So far, HCM City has set up more than 40,000 industrial enterprises employing 1 million workers with their output value accounting for 30 percent of the country’s total industrial production value and 50 percent of the southern region’s.

Over the last four months, despite facing a lot of difficulties, HCM City has newly established another 6,400 enterprises while more than 10,200 enterprises have increased their investment capital.

In the meantime, after 33 years of implementing economic renewal policies, most central and southern provinces have become economic hubs, or tourist magnets for foreign and domestic investors.

Many provinces and cities have experienced great changes. Even poor and underdeveloped areas in the country have developed into modern cities like Da Nang and Can Tho with a cluster of large projects taking shape to serve economic development and increase people’s incomes.

Among large industrial project is the Dung Quat industrial park in central Quang Ngai province where an oil refinery and steel factory will be put into operation soon to turn the poor area into a prosperous one.

Looking back on the significant landmark of April 30, we have more confidence in the strong development of the national economy in the process of international integration.