Vietnam urged to reform economic structure, promote digitalization for higher competitiveness

Vietnam needs to reform its economic structure, promote digitalization, and improve the quality of human resources so as to enhance competitiveness and raise average income levels, said Prof. Peter Morgan, a senior consultant at the Tokyo-based Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI).

He said Vietnam has an open economy with good infrastructure, laying the groundwork for trade development. Therefore, in the short term, the country should make more structural changes to its infrastructure for further economic development, and invest more heavily to compete with other countries, as global competition is more intense than ever.

At the seventh International Conference on Contemporary Issues in Economics, Management and Business (7th CIEMB 2024) held in Hanoi on late last week, Morgan outlined key features of the global economy that can affect Vietnam.

He highlighted that the U.S. economy remains relatively strong, while the European economy appears to be growing slightly slower. China's economy, meanwhile, faces challenges related to land and real estate, leading to relatively low consumer demand.

The Chinese situation is somewhat challenging but not overly concerning, he noted, adding there is no sign of a global economic recession or anything similar.

In this context, the ADBI representative suggested that Vietnam should implement necessary and appropriate reforms to maintain relatively stable economic development.

Dr. Dorsati Madani, a senior economist at the World Bank in Vietnam, believed that the country's economic prospects for 2025 and 2026 remain positive, with projected growth rates of 6.5% for both years, compared to the forecast of 6.1% for 2024.

Such a growth outlook is driven by expanding demand in foreign markets alongside continued domestic demand growth. Notably, Vietnam maintains a high growth momentum in the context of a low global expansion trend in both 2025 and 2026, she said.

The WB expert recommended that Vietnam continue to focus on public investment disbursement, especially in infrastructure, energy, and education. The country also needs to keep improving the investment environment, even in sectors where significant efforts have already been made, such as telecommunications, electricity, and transportation.

The CIEMB is the largest annual international seminar jointly organized by the National Economics University - Hanoi (NEU) and Australian National University (ANU), attracting great attention from domestic and international researchers and scientists.

This year's event received 170 articles from scholars, researchers, policymakers, and lecturers from Vietnam and other countries like Australia, China, France, India, Finland, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nigeria, the Philippines, Slovakia, South Africa, Scotland, and Turkey.