Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Nguyen Thanh Phong (photo: vtc.vn)

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous effect on the global economy and on Vietnam’s socio-economy. It has clearly revealed economic problems that need to be resolved. But it has also opened up new development opportunities and ways to stabilize the macro-economy, promote growth, and secure people's lives.

There is an urgent need to effectively and practically restructure the economy to lay a foundation for sustainable national development in the middle and long term. The 4th Vietnam Economic Forum will anticipate post-pandemic economic developments and trends; evaluate and analyze objectively, comprehensively, and deeply the achievements, shortcomings, and limitations in socio-economic development and COVID-19 pandemic response in Vietnam; and identify viewpoints, tasks, solutions, reform procedures, and economic restructuring in order to overcome difficulties and take advantage of opportunities to realize socio-economic development goals.

Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Nguyen Thanh Phong said:  “One of the core long-term issues in economic development is to build a dynamic, sustainable, independent, self-reliant economy based on science, technology, and innovation, while improving the efficiency of external affairs and international integration as defined in the 2021-2030 socio-economic development strategy approved at the 13th National Party Congress.”

The 4th Vietnam Economic Forum will have three seminars called “Developing a stable labor supply chain in the post-COVID-19 period”, “Developing a capital and real estate market”, and “Technology innovation, digitalization, and supply chain diversification”.

The Forum will discuss the content of an independent and self-reliant economy, and propose policies and solutions for building capacity for economic self-reliance and approaches between building a self-reliant economy and global integration.

Self-reliance in technology and the domestic market will be two main topics of the discussion. Technological self-reliance is the "support" of the national economic development strategy, while building the domestic market is the "leverage".

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong (baotintuc.vn)

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong said: “One of the key factors to build an independent and self-reliant economy is to be technologically independent and self-reliant. We have made a big leap in technology to catch up with the 4th Industrial Revolution, but are still short of our targets. Technology reform and digitalization are important issues in building an independent and self-reliant economy.”

The Vietnam Economic Forum has been held annually since 2017. The plenary session will include a summit of State and Party leaders. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will deliver the closing speech.