Innovation, breakthroughs to lead Viet Nam into new era

Outstanding results in various fields

By the end of 2024, all 15 key targets were achieved and surpassed, with outstanding results in various fields, earning high recognition from both the people across the country and the international community.

Viet Nam continued to shine as a high-growth economy, ranking among the top-performing countries in the region and the world. The GDP growth for the whole year was estimated at approximately 7 percent, with an economic size of around US$470 billion.

Growth quality improved, as evidenced by an estimated 5.7 percent increase in labor productivity, exceeding the set target, and the Index of Economic Freedom up 13 places, ranking Viet Nam 59th out of 176 countries and territories.

Viet Nam received high praise for its inflation control and macroeconomic stability in the face of significant global volatility and difficulties. The average consumer price index (CPI) in 2024 increased by about 3.6 percent, even as wages were raised and the prices of certain state-managed goods were adjusted up.

Major economic balances were maintained, with total import-export turnover reaching record level and agricultural exports surpassing US$62 billion, also a new high. The trade surplus was estimated at around US$24 billion, contributing to improving the balance of international payments.

Thanks to the positive economic recovery and enhanced efficiency in tax management, total state budget revenue exceeded projections by over 19 percent (approximately VND320 trillion), adding more resources for development investment. Public debt, government debt, national foreign debt, and the budget deficit remained below the prescribed limits.

Viet Nam remains a safe and attractive destination for international businesses, partners, and investors. It ranks among the top 15 developing countries globally attracting the biggest foreign direct investment (FDI) with approximately US$40 billion, of which US$25 billion was disbursed.

The country is also one of the top 20 largest economies in terms of trade volume, with 17 free trade agreements (FTAs), establishing itself as a key link in regional and global supply chains.

Viet Nam is undergoing a strong transformation toward a digital, green, high-tech, and environmentally friendly economy.

It has secured an important position in the global semiconductor industry, drawing major technology groups. The national brand value in 2024 reached US$507 billion, ranking 32nd out of 193 countries, up one place from 2023.

Strategic breakthroughs were decisively implemented with significant and clear results. Over 2,000 kilometers of expressways were put into operation, and the Quang Binh-Hung Yen 500 kV circuit-3 power transmission line project was completed in only six months, marking a record. Preparations for national railway projects were expedited. Human resource development saw positive changes, with strong promotion of science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Viet Nam ranked 44th out of 132 countries and territories in the Global Innovation Index 2024, climbing two places compared to 2023.

Planning efforts were intensified, with all 111 sectoral, provincial, and national plans approved and implemented. Concurrently, stagnant and inefficient long-term projects were handled, contributing to unlocking resources, reducing waste, and creating new space and momentum for development.

Socio-cultural development received significant attention, with social welfare ensured and the people's quality of life further improved.

The multidimensional poverty rate dropped to approximately 1.9 percent, and the average income of workers increased by about 7.4 percent.

The Happiness Index rose by 11 steps, placing Viet Nam 54th out of 143 countries and territories.

Remaining challenges

While we take pride in the remarkable achievements of 2024, it is essential to straightforwardly acknowledge the remaining limitations, shortcomings, and challenges that require to be addressed promptly and effectively in the coming time. Macroeconomic stability still faces underlying risks, with significant pressure on exchange rates, interest rates, and inflation control, particularly in light of unfavorable external impacts. Several sectors continue to encounter difficulties in production and business operations, with market demand recovering slowly and unclearly. The implementation of some key infrastructure projects faces obstacles, and public investment disbursement has not met expectations.

Institutional and legal frameworks remain the bottleneck of bottlenecks. Developing human resources, especially high-quality ones, has not met requirements of development and has not created breakthroughs in productivity, quality, efficiency, and competitiveness of the economy.

The development gap between regions and social classes has not improved significantly; the living conditions of a part of the population have remained poor. Slow progress has been seen in solving serious environmental pollution, traffic congestion, and flooding in major cities. Unpredictable developments of climate change, natural disasters, storms, landslides, floods, subsidence, and droughts have caused severe consequences.

The high-tech crime and online fraud have showed complex developments while ensuring security and order in certain areas has faced challenges.

2025 - special year of acceleration and breakthroughs

2025 is regarded as a special year to successfully fulfill the 5-year socio-economic development plan for the 2021-2025 period.

It will see many significant national events - the 95th founding anniversary of the Party, the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification, the 135th birth anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh, the 80th founding anniversary of the country, and the Party congresses at all levels leading up to the 14th National Party Congress.

This will open a new era - the era of rising up for strong, civilized, and prosperous development of the nation, as guided by Party General Secretary To Lam. To successfully achieve the strategic goal of becoming a developing country with modern industry and high middle income by 2030, and a developed country with high income by 2045.

We must make maximum efforts right from 2025 to create breakthrough factors to attract investment, and strongly promote production and business, aiming for a growth rate of at least 8% or even higher under favorable conditions. It will serve as a solid foundation to attain a double-digit growth rate from 2026.

Top 10 tasks for 2025

1. Continuing to focus on perfecting institutions and laws to create a breakthrough of breakthroughs, creating momentum for national development in the spirit of open policies, seamless infrastructure, and smart governance. Paying special attention to promoting innovative mindset, facilitating development, and creating new development spaces. Innovating, digitalizing, ensuring publicity and transparency, and enhancing the efficiency of various markets; synchronously implementing solutions to restore and develop a healthy real estate market, and upgrade the stock market.

Taking decisive action to reorganize the apparatus towards the direction of Elite - Streamlined - Strong - Efficient - Valid - Effective, associated with the restructuring and improvement of the quality of officials and public servants in accordance with the 12th Party Central Committee's Resolution 18-NQ/TW; creating specific policies to encourage officials and civil servants who dare to think, act, and take responsibility for the common good. Continuing to promote administrative reforms, simplify procedures, build an e-government, and implement a project on developing applications of population data, identification and electronic authentication to serve national digital transformation in the period 2022-2025, with a vision to 2030 (Project 06); effectively carrying out solutions to improve the investment and business environment, ensuring regional and international competitiveness.

2. Continuing to prioritize prompting economic growth while ensuring macro-economic stability, controlling inflation, and maintaining major balances of the economy. Improving analyzing and forecasting capabilities; managing fiscal and monetary policies proactively, promptly, flexibly, harmoniously, and effectively to unlock, mobilize, and efficiently use resources, especially from the people. Focusing on revitalizing traditional growth drivers, particularly measures to stimulate investment, consumption, and exports; creating breakthroughs to boost new growth drivers, especially digital transformation, green transition, and the development of emerging industries such as semiconductors, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud computing.

3. Focusing on developing a modern, synchronized strategic infrastructure system; accelerating key projects; connecting expressways with airports and seaports.

4. Promoting industrialization and modernization, restructuring the economy in combination with renovating the growth model in the direction of enhancing the application of science and technology, improving productivity, quality, effectiveness, and competitiveness.

5. Clearly defining and having breakthrough mechanisms, policies and solutions at both strategic and tactical levels to make high-quality human resources, science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation a national priority in line with the spirit of the Politburo's Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW dated December 22, 2024, creating breakthroughs for rapid and sustainable development.

6. Emphasizing the development of culture in harmony with socio-economic growth; building mechanisms and policies to develop cultural and entertainment industries; developing a system of Vietnamese human values for comprehensive development; effectively implementing policies for people who rendered service to the nation, ensuring social security, and sustainably reducing poverty; focusing on ethnic and religious policies, promoting the spirit of religion and nationality, and leading a good religious and secular life. Effectively carrying out the National Target Programs on building new-style rural areas, sustainable poverty reduction, socio-economic development in ethnic minority-inhabited and mountainous areas, cultural development, and drug prevention. Promoting the movement Join hands to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses nationwide by 2025; and striving to complete over 100,000 social housing units.

7. Strengthening the fight against corruption, wastefulness, and negative phenomena. Continuing to perfect institutions, and address loopholes and shortcomings in mechanisms, policies and laws. Enhancing publicity, transparency, and accountability; and effectively monitoring assets and incomes of persons holding positions and authority. Continuing to intensify inspections, investigations, and strict settlement of acts of corruption, negative phenomena, and wastefulness.

8. Continuing to consolidate and strengthen national defense and security; maintain national independence, sovereignty, and interests; promote the development of defense industry and dual-use security industry; and ensure political security and social order and safety.

9. Enhancing the effectiveness of external affairs and international integration; continuing to deepen relations with partners in a more substantive, and effective manner to ensure mutual interests.

10. Developing the communication work, especially policy communication to create social consensus, solidify the great national unity bloc, and strive to comprehensively achieve all set socio-economic development goals and tasks./.