The year 2025 marks the final year of the Socio-economic Development Plan for 2021-2025 and serves as a pivotal period in preparation for the 2021-2030 development strategy. This is a crucial time for laying the groundwork for a deeper, faster, and more sustainable growth model.

Amid ongoing global economic fluctuations, Vietnam has set a GDP growth target of 8 per cent this year and aims to post double-digit results each year during the 2026-2030 period. This is a transformative goal that requires close and coordinated efforts across the government, ministries, agencies, local authorities, and especially the business community. To record high growth and sustainable development, experts have emphasized the need to identify legal bottlenecks, reform institutions, and unlock economic resources.

The Vietnam Economic Growth Forum 2025, with the theme “Strategic & Practical Solutions to Promote High and Sustainable Economic Growth in the New Context” and held on July 8 in Hanoi, featured insights from ministry leaders and economists proposing solutions to address legal bottlenecks and initiatives to unlock resources to drive double-digit economic growth.

Resolving legal bottlenecks

At a session of the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform on June 5, Party General Secretary To Lam called for a nationwide review of legal barriers, urging that fundamental issues be addressed this year. He emphasized that this is not merely a development target, but a “political imperative” critical to unlocking double-digit economic growth from 2026 onwards.

In his remarks at the Forum, Deputy Minister of Justice Nguyen Thanh Tu highlighted that Politburo Resolution No. 66-NQ/TW on the reform of law-making and enforcement processes to meet the country’s development requirements in the new era positions institutional reform as the “breakthrough among breakthroughs”.

The spirit of Resolution No. 66 signals a shift away from a control-driven approach towards one that facilitates development and actively supports citizens and businesses. In line with this direction, the government has issued 28 decrees to decentralize and delegate authority, clearly delineating responsibilities between central and local governments.

Deputy Minister Tu noted that key legal challenges remain embedded in foundational laws, where overlapping, conflicting, or outdated provisions continue to hinder economic momentum. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ), in collaboration with other ministries and agencies, identified three major types of legal bottlenecks: conflicting or overlapping regulations; unfeasible provisions; and rules that create undue compliance burdens, hinder innovation, and stifle economic growth.

These bottlenecks have been identified from six main sources, including self-assessments by ministries; reviews by local authorities; input from business associations and enterprises; reports from legal and investigative bodies (including lawyers and inspectors); and through digital platforms.

To institutionalize citizen and business feedback, the MoJ has launched the National Legal Portal, a centralized platform for receiving and addressing regulatory concerns.

Four reform pillars

Addressing the Forum, Dr. Vo Tri Thanh, Director of the Institute for Brand and Competitiveness Strategy (BCSI), emphasized four key areas of reform necessary to achieve high growth and sustainable development.

Vietnam’s first reform priority lies in institutional renewal. This means creating more effective mechanisms for coordination, oversight, and checks and balances, while enabling broader public participation in policymaking.

The second area centers on legal reform. Ongoing and upcoming reforms include key legislation such as the Land Law, laws governing finance, monetary policy and property tax, and the Labor Code.

Third, structural reforms must be fast-tracked to align with global trends and shifts in supply chains. Vietnam needs to maximize the benefits from free trade agreements (FTAs) like the CPTPP, the EUVFTA, and the RCEP. Industrial policy should remain market-oriented and globally-integrated.

The fourth focus is human capital. This includes expanding access to upper secondary education and overhauling vocational and higher education to meet digital-era demands. To close the knowledge gap, Vietnam must invest in world-class universities and foster a dynamic startup ecosystem supported by strong intellectual property rights.

A bold step forward would be the development of entrepreneurial universities; institutions that train high-caliber talent while nurturing creative, socially-driven young innovators.

Mobilizing core sectors

Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tuong Van emphasized that the construction sector remains a key pillar of Vietnam’s economy, making both direct and indirect contributions.

According to recent data, the construction and transport sectors collectively contribute 16-17 per cent of annual GDP and account for around 1.8-2 percentage points of growth. The most significant value comes from investment across multiple areas, including transport infrastructure, housing, and technical systems.

Beyond its direct impact, the sector plays a catalytic role in related industries such as finance, banking, manufacturing, services, and consumption. Its indirect influence is perhaps most evident in the reduction of logistics costs and the enhancement of national competitiveness, paving the way for new regional growth dynamics. These indirect effects are estimated to contribute an additional 4-5 per cent to total GDP output.

To help meet Vietnam’s 8 per cent growth target in 2025, the construction sector is projected to contribute 17.23 per cent of GDP and at least 1.96 percentage points to overall economic growth. Notably, construction, warehousing, and real estate alone are expected to account for up to 85 per cent of that contribution.

Looking ahead, Deputy Minister Van outlined five priority policy areas: institutional reform and administrative simplification; infrastructure breakthroughs; adoption of sustainable technologies; market and enterprise development; and workforce training.

Among these, regulatory reform and procedural streamlining are top concerns for businesses, particularly regarding delays in project approvals. The Ministry of Construction is actively reviewing existing procedures to accelerate and simplify project licensing, ensuring faster and more transparent approvals.

To strengthen infrastructure, the government is encouraging large enterprises to invest in strategic projects. Key national priorities include accelerating the North-South Expressway, developing urban Ring Roads, building East-West economic corridors, and upgrading seaports, deep-water ports, and airports. A central goal is to reduce logistics costs from the current 18 per cent to below 15 per cent of GDP.

In a related statement, the Ministry of Industry and Trade reported that Vietnam had 37 export items exceeding $1 billion in turnover in 2024, accounting for 94.3 per cent of total export value. Among these, eight surpassed the $10 billion mark, accounting for 69 per cent. Leading export categories include electronics, computers and components, phones and accessories, machinery, textiles, footwear, and wooden products.

The country’s Commodity Import-Export Strategy to 2030, issued under Decision No. 493/QD-TTg on April 19, 2022, emphasizes market diversification to avoid over-reliance on specific regions, while aiming for balanced and sustainable bilateral trade in the long term. To implement this strategy effectively, and especially to boost high-volume and high-value exports, the Ministry proposed a dual-track approach.

On the institutional side, ministries must accelerate FTA negotiations and upgrades, fast-track the domestic adoption of international commitments, and review and revise regulations to remove barriers to production and trade.

On the business side, enterprises and industry associations are urged to capitalize on global recovery trends, stay agile and responsive to policy developments, and foster stronger partnerships with foreign-invested enterprises to enhance competitiveness.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Hoang Hiep, in order to meet the 2025 target of 4.3 per cent value-added growth in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, the sector must overcome persistent challenges by identifying opportunities within them.

Key measures include restructuring towards value creation rather than volume, investing in science and technology from the seed stage, and moving towards net-zero emissions. However, he cautioned that rapid growth often comes with environmental costs, making the transition to a green and circular economy an urgent priority. This requires replicating proven models and rapidly modernizing infrastructure.

Crucially, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is leading revisions to the Land Law to unlock new development resources. This includes rethinking land use rights, not merely as special assets but as essential production inputs. In addition to traditional land allocation and leasing mechanisms through auctions and tenders, more flexibility should be granted to local authorities in land management and resource mobilization.