IMF support for Vietnam"s socio-economic development highly regarded

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc meets with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde (L)

At the meeting, PM Phuc highlighted Vietnam’s outstanding achievements in socio-economic development over the past year, especially its great efforts to maintain macroeconomic stability, control inflation, and achieve an economic growth rate of 7% along with high export surplus during the first nine months of 2018.

He also appreciated the IMF’s advice about how to stabilise the macro-economy, promote the economic growth, and ensure social welfares.

The Vietnamese government is going ahead with economic restructuring, growth model reform, fiscal consolidation, public debt control, prudent and flexible fiscal and monetary management, business environment improvement, development of the private economic sector, creative innovation encouragement and rapid adaptation to the fourth industrial revolution.

The Vietnamese government leader praised the IMF for its positive assessment of Vietnam's economic situation and prospects, asked the IMF to increase its continued support for Vietnam in training and policy consultancy on promoting economic restructuring, reforming the growth model, revamping the financial and banking sector, and taking full advantage of Revolution 4.0 in the financial area.

The IMF Managing Director had high regard for PM Phuc’s speech at the ASEAN Leaders’ on the sidelines of the IMF-WB annual meetings, saying that it gave many concrete and practical proposals and initiatives.

She congratulated Vietnam on its socio-economic development attainments, particularly in maintaining macro-economic stability, improving the business climate, and raising competitiveness. She suggested Vietnam push ahead with restructuring, increase investment in education and health care, control public debt, enhance fiscal consolidation, control exchange rates flexibly, and boost deeper international economic integration.

Lagarde said that the IMF would continue to support Vietnam in ensuring maintain macroeconomic stability and promote its economic growth in order to achieve sustainable and inclusive development goals.

She also attached high value to Vietnam’s contributions to the IMF’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust.