A master program on economic recovery and development during and after the Covid-19 pandemic was proposed at a socio-economic seminar on September 27, co-organized online and offline by the National Assembly (NA) Office and the NA’s Committee for Economic Affairs, chaired by NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and NA Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Hai.

According to Ms. Tran Thi Hong Minh, Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), the program consists of three phases: Phase 1 (from now to Q1 2022), prioritizing pandemic prevention combined with macroeconomic policies to support businesses; Phase 2 (from Q1 2022 to the end of 2023), loosening macroeconomic policies to stimulate demand in the economy and facilitating businesses to develop; and Phase 3 (after 2023), normalizing macroeconomic policy and promoting broader economic institutional reform.

The government also needs to consider issuing subsequent support packages with total additional funding of nearly VND40 trillion ($1.76 billion), according to Mr. Can Van Luc, Chief Economist at BIDV. Institutions and legal corridors for the management and development of the digital economy should be built shortly. It is also necessary to accelerate economic restructuring in order to be able to mobilize and allocate human resources more efficiently.

Many experts at the seminar said there should be specific policies to support businesses in a timely manner, which includes extending debt repayments, especially for businesses in the service sector. Logistics costs and transportation costs also need to be cut, and policies to reopen the international tourism market need to be developed quickly.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue told the seminar that the successful control of the pandemic and appropriate solutions helped Vietnam post growth of 2.91 per cent last year; one of the highest in the world and generally maintained throughout the opening months of 2021.