Regular Government Press Conference January 2024: Economic situation

On the afternoon of February 1, Minister, Head of the Government Office Tran Van Son, Government Spokesperson, chaired the regular press conference for January 2024.

Overview of the regular press conference in January 2024. (Photo: Gia Thanh)

Speaking at the press conference, Minister Tran Van Son emphasized that the regular Government meeting in January 2024 (February 1) chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh aimed to assess the socio-economic situation in January 2024, the implementation of 3 national target programs, disbursement of public investment capital and a number of other important contents; propose solutions, key tasks and breakthroughs in the coming time.

At the meeting, Government members said that the socio-economic situation in January 2024 continued to show a positive recovery trend, achieving important and remarkable results in many fields.

Specifically, the macro economy continued to be stable, inflation was controlled, and major balances were ensured. The consumer price index (CPI) increased by 3.37% over the same period. The monetary market and exchange rate were basically stable; deposit and lending interest rates maintained a downward trend. State budget revenue reached 231 trillion VND, equal to 13.6% of the estimate.

At the same time, import and export continued to increase strongly. Total import and export turnover reached nearly 64.22 billion USD, up 37.7% over the same period, with a trade surplus of 2.92 billion USD. Energy and food security were ensured (rice export in January reached 347 million USD, up 86.1% over the same period); labor supply basically met demand.

According to Minister Tran Van Son, the main industries and sectors have many positive signals. The industrial production index (IIP) increased by 18.3% over the same period, of which the processing and manufacturing industry increased by 19.3%. Agricultural, forestry and fishery production has developed stably; ensuring increased demand during Tet.

Trade and services were quite active; total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue in January increased by 8.1%, welcoming over 1.5 million international visitors, up 73.6% over the same period.

"Development investment continued to achieve positive results. Disbursement of public investment capital reached 2.58% of the plan, higher than the same period (1.81%). Registered foreign direct investment (FDI) capital reached 2.36 billion USD, up 40.2%; realized FDI capital reached 1.48 billion USD, up 9.6% over the same period," informed the Head of the Government Office.

Also in January 2024, the cultural and social fields were focused on. Focusing on implementing the work to ensure that people can celebrate the New Year of the Dragon happily, healthily, safely and economically; 3.7 thousand tons of rice were provided to support the difficult areas during the harvest season. Cultural and sports activities to celebrate the Party and celebrate Spring were carefully prepared, ensuring the traditional customs and beauty of the nation.

Political and social stability; national defense and security are maintained; social order and safety are ensured. Anti-corruption and anti-negativity are strengthened. Foreign affairs and international integration continue to inherit and promote the results of 2023, many high-level foreign affairs activities have taken place since the beginning of the year; the country's prestige and position continue to be enhanced.

In particular, the Head of the Government Office said that international organizations continue to positively assess Vietnam's economic growth prospects.

Besides affirming the achieved results, Government members also pointed out the limitations, shortcomings, difficulties and challenges that need to be addressed and resolved.

Among them, the following are highlighted: Macroeconomic stability, major balances, inflation, exchange rates, and bad debt still pose many risks; production and business activities of people and enterprises still face many difficulties; climate change, natural disasters, storms, floods, and extreme weather are unpredictable; security, order, and crime in some areas are complicated; the lives of a segment of the population are still facing difficulties...

After analyzing the international, regional and domestic situation, Minister Tran Van Son said that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that the results achieved are very encouraging and worthy of respect, but we absolutely must not be subjective, satisfied, or intoxicated with the results achieved. The tasks set for February and the coming time are very heavy.

Therefore, all levels, sectors and localities need to continue to be highly determined, make great efforts, and take drastic actions with new spirit and new momentum right from the first day and month of 2024, so that the results in 2024 must be better than in 2023.

The Prime Minister requested ministries, branches and localities to urgently complete the Program, Action Plan, and specific documents to implement Resolutions No. 01 and 02 of the Government, and the directions of the Central Committee, the Politburo, etc.

At the same time, there are solutions to support and stabilize the lives of workers in a timely manner; strengthen the connection between labor supply and demand, and support workers in sustainable career transition. Monitor and grasp the labor situation in industrial parks, export processing zones, and economic zones, creating favorable conditions for workers to take Tet holidays and return to work after Tet.

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