PM stresses need to stabilise macro economy

08:50' 28/04/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, on April 27, urged localities to focus on curbing inflation and stabilising the macro economy.

The government leader was chairing a live-televised teleconference on socio-economics with leaders from eight localities, namely Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, the cities of Hai Phong, Da Nang and Can Tho and the provinces of Nghe An, Khanh Hoa and Dak Lak.

The teleconference, the first of its kind televised across the nation, is a step to cut state budget allocated to organise meetings, reduce crowds and save time.

The PM told the four-hour conference that in the first four months of this year, Vietnam maintained high economic growths, with foreign direct investment increasing by 41 percent and export by 27.6 percent over the same period last year.

Inflation rose 11,6 percent in the period but it has been on the downtrend, registering a 2.38 percent rise in January, 3.56 percent in February, 2.99 percent in March and 2.2 percent in April.

However, the PM said, the four-month period saw a high trade deficit of 29.3 billion USD, up 71 percent year-on-year. Reducing trade deficit is a major and hard task for ministries, agencies and localities in the time to come, he stressed.

The PM asked leaders from the above-mentioned cities and provinces to take drastic measures to curb inflation, stabilise the macro economy, ensure social welfare and maintain sustainable growth.

Cities and provinces nationwide should speed up their production, key infrastructure works and export, reduce trade deficit and ensure sufficient financial supplies for production, he said.

The government leader requested that localities cut spendings on power, petrol and the organisation of events, adding that in the future the Government will apply teleconferences as it is a fast, efficient and economical way of working with localities.