Australia supports Vietnam in economic restructuring

The Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia co-organized a Restructuring for a more Competitive Vietnam (RCV) project launch workshop in Hanoi on August 11.

The project has been developed to support implementation of selected elements of the Government of Vietnam’s master plan on economic restructuring. The master plan looks to support the renovation of Vietnam’s growth model to increase the quality, efficiency and competitive capacity of the economy to 2020.

Being implemented by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the project aims at achieving increased national economic competitiveness; accelerated growth in labour productivity, employment and incomes; and improved transparency in business regulation and reduced corruption.

According to Vice Minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong, economic restructuring and growth model renovation have become necessary and urgent, which should be conducted with an appropriate roadmap to achieve the goals of an intensive economic growth model in the direction of increasing the quality, efficiency and competitiveness of the country.

The RCV project aligns well with Australian strategic priorities in Vietnam, including Australia’s advocacy for rules-based global trade, state enterprise reform, competition policy reform, and private sector development. It will support legal and regulatory reforms to improve Vietnam’s competitiveness, which will deliver reduced business compliance costs, increased foreign investment, increased competition and productivity growth in key sectors including agricultural sector.

“Vietnam is engaging in complex regional and international economic agreements which embody a new generation of reforms. Australia stands ready to support Vietnam in this important reform process. If followed through, this will see Vietnam continue to grow in strength and stature. This is a good outcome for Vietnam, obviously, but it is also a good outcome for Australia and the region more broadly”, said Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Mr Hugh Borrowman.

The initial phase of the project is 2014-2016. Concrete results achieved from this phase and priorities of the new Social Economic Development Plan 2016-2020 will inform a possible new phase beyond 2016.

(Source: CPV)