Vietnam’s economy to keep growing solidly with new leaders

By INS Contributors

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13)--As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, Vietnam has emerged as Asia’s shining star, turning in one of the best economic performances in 2020 even as economies worldwide are struggling with sluggish growth and uncertainty.

Vietnam’s growth has been largely attributed to its effective handling of the pandemic, with the authorities widely praised for their effective measures in limiting the economic and health impact of the virus on the country.

Despite its success, the country’s leaders have remained cautious as Vietnam and the region are still faced with a wide range of challenges that must be carefully navigated to ensure continued success.

The Southeast Asian country is also undergoing a leadership transition with the 11th session of the National Assembly (NA) or legislature, currently underway amid some debate in the media whether Vietnam is an emerging middle power in Asia with the new leadership having the responsibility to carry the country through what remains a difficult time for the region and the world.

Success with containing COVID-19

Vietnam’s chairmanship of ASEAN has been widely viewed as a success having put forth a well-coordinated and cohesive plan towards directing the bloc in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country is credited with acting quickly due to its experience in dealing with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003 and human cases of avian influenza between 2004 and 2010.

This meant that Vietnam has intimate experience and infrastructure in dealing with viral outbreaks, and despite millions becoming infected throughout ASEAN, Vietnam with its 96 million population has confirmed less than 3,000 cases and less than 40 deaths.

The country has also wisely invested heavily in a wide ranging and robust public healthcare system, with public health expenditures per capita increasing an average rate of 9 percent per year between 2000 and 2016. These investments have benefited its people even before COVID-19 with rapidly improving health indicators.

Economic boom despite challenging global environment

Effective management of COVID-19 has allowed the country to outperform all its regional counterparts, without a single quarter of economic contraction at a time when many economies globally were weighed down by the pandemic.
The Vietnamese economy grew 2.9 percent last year from a year ago, according to government estimates released in late December, outperforming even China which posted 2.3 percent growth during the same period according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“Swift introduction of containment measures, combined with aggressive contact tracing, targeted testing, and isolation of suspected COVID-19 cases, helped keep recorded infections and death rates notably low on a per capita basis.

“Successful containment, along with timely policy support, also helped limit the economic fallout and the size of the emergency response package. In 2020, the Vietnamese economy expanded by 2.9 percent, one of the highest growth rates in the world, backed by the early rebound of domestic activities and robust export performance, particularly higher-tech exports of electronics as people around the world worked from home,” the IMF said in its country focussed report.

Effective chairmanship of ASEAN, strong showing at UNSC

Vietnam can also count on its success in managing the complex issues affecting countries the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) during its time as chair of the bloc in 2020, having successfully overcome a variety of economic, health and territorial challenges despite unprecedented difficulties.

Besides developing collective effort against the COVID-19 pandemic, and establishing joint groups related to public health emergencies, Vietnam undertook major initiatives under its chairmanship including cooperation on transnational crime, public security and coordination among the ASEAN law enforcement agencies.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, and the inability for officials to travel and meet in face to face meetings, the country quickly adapted to the new normal and new operating conditions, getting approval of more than 42 documents during the September meeting of the ASEAN foreign ministers.

It even managed to increase the activities and responsibilities to the ASEAN Regional Forum under the Hanoi Plan of Action -II (2020-2025), with discussions on the East Sea, Vietnam’s term for the South China Sea being one of the major highlights discussed during the ministerial meetings.

Vietnam will also serve as United Nations Security Council (UNSC) president starting Thursday, its second time in the seat during the 2020-21 tenure after having become, for second time in history, a non-permanent member of the UNSC after securing 192 out of a total of 193 votes, a record high number of votes.

Vietnam's work at the UN Security Council has been highly valued by the member states, the diplomatic media and the international press, with the country has actively participated in matters concerning the principles of independence, self-determination, responsibility and balance, the UN Charter and international law.

New Line-Up to keep country moving forwards