PM Nguyen Tan Dung sits down with Wall St. Journal

26/09/2007 -- 6:03 PM

Ha Noi (VNA) - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on September 24 granted an interview to the financial daily, the Wall Street Journal. PM Dung told the paper that after 20 years of renovation and deep integration into the international economy, Viet Nam has attained impressive socio-economic achievements and become one of the most dynamic economies in the region. The country’s GDP has quadrupled over the period and enjoyed an 8.2 percent growth rate in 2006, ranking second in Asia, after China, Dung elaborated. In order to turn the economy around, Viet Nam had to rethink the way the economy was managed, he said. Viet Nam was determined to pursue its transition from a centrally planned economy to a multi-sector market economy. The country gave up on self-contained development and started open policies and actively integrated into the international economy in order to take advantage of the opportunities a market economy offers. The Vietnamese economy has been operating under a market-oriented mechanism with economic sectors being equally treated and encouraged for development, the PM said. He said besides its determination for renewal, the Vietnamese government has maintained a stable socio-political environment. It has also been ready and willing to discuss with and listen to investors to make suitable policy and law adjustments, helping to create a favourable investment-business environment for both domestic and foreign investors. After joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Viet Nam’s legal environment has become more transparent, equal and friendly for investors, Dung said, adding that the country has a young, active and enthusiastic labour force that is adaptable to sciences and technologies. Recent decisions to invest in Viet Nam by world leading groups such as Intel, Microsoft, Nike and Canon are testament to Viet Nam’s investment environment. On the government’s role in economic management, the PM said: “We sped up the renewal of the State’s economic function by reducing and abolishing State direct examination of business activities through administrative orders, shifting from direct interference to deciding orientations for socio-economic development, creating and adjusting the business environment by policies, laws and macro economic tools. Together with its accession to the World Trade Organisation, Viet Nam continues to perfect its legal framework in accordance with Viet Nam’s WTO commitments.” PM Dung went on to say that the private economic sector is an important part of the economy, which the Vietnamese government has created favourable conditions for. The private economic sector in Viet Nam is developing vigorously and dynamically, he added. He said that since the promulgation of the Enterprise Law in 2000, close to 240,000 private businesses have been established and are now operational, representing about 45 percent of the country’s GDP. “If you visit Viet Nam right now, I believe that you will get a feeling of the country’s vitality and business spirit,” he concluded.-Enditem
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