Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked authorities in Ho Chi Minh City to promptly take measures to address the difficulties and obstacles in economic development following a sharp decline in growth during the first quarter of 2023.

Chairing a meeting between permanent government members and the Standing Board of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee on April 16 to seek solutions to boost local socio-economic development, Prime Minister Chinh requested that the city carefully analyze and handle every factor that affect the economy of Vietnam in general and of Ho Chi Minh City in particular.

He instructed the city to keep a close watch on the local, domestic, and international situations to stay proactive and flexible while strongly and comprehensively carrying out recent directions from the Party Central Committee, the Politburo, the Secretariat, the government, and the National Assembly.

The municipal Party Committee reported that the city recorded GRDP growth of 0.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2023. Its Index of Industrial Production (IIP) fell 0.9 per cent.

The city submitted several proposals to the Prime Minister, including setting up a government working group to identify mechanisms for it to post development breakthroughs, implementing key transport projects early, revising and supplementing certain regulations on foreign workers in Vietnam, issuing a support policy for vocational training, and tackling obstacles in the property market.