Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has highlighted brightspots in the country’s socio-economic development in September and the thirdquarter at the monthly government meeting in Hanoi on October 2.

The PM said strong recovery was seen in agriculture, industry, finance,banking, and social welfare, saying it will create a good premise for economicgrowth in Q4 and the whole year.

As Vietnam’s economy expanded 2.62 percent in Q3, the nation will definitely enjoypositive economic growth, at least from 2 percent, for 2020, he stressed.

PM Phuc pointed out the country’s outstanding achievements in the January-Septemberperiod with a record trade surplus of 17 billion USD, and foreign investmentstanding at 21 billion USD.

The economy has recovered quickly after disruptions caused by the coronavirusoutbreak, with stable macro-economy, strong securities market, and stableexchange rates, he said.

The PM applauded export activities in the period, with exports surging 4.2percent year on year, and disbursement of public capital increasing to thehighest rate.

He went on by underlining the role of the State, private and FDI companies,saying they have become the important driver for growth and job generation inthe country.

Agriculture was still a major pillar for the economy during thistough time thanks to bumper crops, high farming product prices and goodexport revenue. This year, taking advantage of the EU-Vietnam Free TradeAgreement (EVFTA), together with the appearance of many processing plants, thesector is striving to export some 41 billion USD worth of farm produce.

He also expressed his delight that the Vietnam ManufacturingPurchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) posted 52.2 points in September, as comparedto 45.7 points in August, which signals a stronger improvement in the country’sbusiness condition.

However, he said difficulties and challenges remained for tourism, aviation andtransportation sector while the current growth still lags behind expectation.

In that context, PM Phuc asked his cabinet members to outline measures pushingeconomic growth as well as promoting digital transformation in the context ofthe COVID-19 outbreak.

He ordered increasing resilience in national development, particularly in2021./.