Hanoi (VNA) – Asia Times on October 1 ran an article sayingthat the Vietnamese economy will soon recover after COVID-19 pandemic andbecome one of the best performers in the world.

“Like its neighboring countries, Vietnam’s economy hasbeen struggling after months of fighting against the pandemic. Itis nonetheless still an outlier given its effective response tothe COVID-19 outbreak, with impressive growth. Therefore, its economy isexpected to witness positive signals soon after the pandemic is brought undercontrol, which is highly unlikely for those countries that are seriouslyplagued by COVID-19,” according to the article.

It cited the data as showing that Vietnam’s GDP growth in thesecond quarter of 2020 was about 0.4 percent year on year. Althoughthis was the economy’s worst performance in 35 years, it was exceptionalcompared with its neighbors, some suffering from negative growth. 

TheWorld Bank forecasts thatVietnam’s GDP growth could reach 2.8 percent in 2020 and will recover to 6.7percent next year, while S&P Global Ratings expects that Vietnam will be the second-best performer amongAsian economies this year.

The article noted all this indicates that the country is well able tobounce back soon from the crisis. Thus Vietnam should re-emerge quickly in thepost-pandemic period, making it one of the best performers in the globaleconomy, as it has been over thepast decade.

“Thanks to its stringent lockdown measures to containCOVID-19’s spread months, Vietnam is now gradually becoming one of the mostattractive destinations for foreign investment,” it said.

Asnoted previously, its efficiency in getting the pandemic under control hasturned it into a safe place for international firms to do business during andafter the COVID-19 crisis. According to a study released byHong Kong’s Deep Knowledge Group, Vietnam is the ninth-safest place in theAsia-Pacific region amid the pandemic. Also noteworthy, according to a report by GoldmanSachs, for many US firms “when asked about top locations for moving out ofmainland China, Vietnam and India are the most mentioned destinations.”

During the COVID-19 crisis, while many countries have been suffering fromeconomic sclerosis, Vietnam’s economy has continued to take firm stepstoward international economic integration.

Notably, on June 8, Vietnam ratified a free-trade agreementwith the European Union (EVFTA), which took effect fromAugust 1. As well, it has been working closely with other members of theRegional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with the hope of signing this FTA before 2021.

Allof these achievements could be considered exceptional under the currentsituation, which is inimical to global economic activities, and Vietnam isexpected to gain enormously from these FTAs.

“As long as it can maintain the current momentum, Vietnam willbe a rising star in the global and regional economy, paving the way to becominga high-income country in 2045 asit is aiming to do,” according to the article./.