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PM Dũng noted that the global financial crisis will continue to spread in the world and no sign of its end has been seen. It will surely affect growth, employment and overall balance of payment of the national economy, posing heavy duties in maintaining the macro stability and ensuring social security.

Meanwhile, there remain numerous difficulties at home: the inflation rate is still high, natural calamities have occurred unpredictably, affecting production activities and food price; the prices of many goods, including major exports, are going down; the credit interest rate stand high; the slowing growth of credit debts challenge production and business activities; the export turnover has gone down in recent months; and the industrial production value growth rate has continuously decelerated since June.

Such a context, stated the Government chief, requires an appropriate adjustment of the overall goals, major norms and solutions.

PM Dũng said that the Government will focus on three groups of main issues, namely (i) monetary, fiscal and price policies; (ii) encouraging investment, promoting production and export, reducing excess of import over export; and (iii) ensuring social security and porverty reduction.

Mentioning the investment orientations in 2009, PM Dũng confirmed that the Government will continue to postpone ineffective and unnecessary projects to pour capital into important projects on electricity, production, and infrastructure in the country’s large economic hubs, so as to untie knots of growth.

By Hải Minh