Hanoi (VNA) - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March 5 urged ministries, sectors, and localities to continue streamlining the organisational apparatus and prepare for the restructuring of administrative units, along with efforts to ensure macroeconomic stability, promote growth, and respond to trade competition.

Chairing a regular Government meeting for February, PM Chinh stressed that achieving a GDP growth rate of at least 8% in 2025 remains a significant challenge, requiring continued, utmost efforts.

Highlighting the importance of maintaining macroeconomic stability, controlling inflation, and ensuring the economy’s major balances, he directed the implementation of an active, flexible, timely, and effective monetary policy in harmony with an appropriate expansionary fiscal policy.

Efforts should be made to reduce interest rates; increase revenue; cut down expenses; reduce taxes, fees, and charges; and ensure sufficient credit for the economy, Chinh stated, emphasising that it is crucial to ensure there is no shortage of energy, especially in terms of electricity, oil, and gas.

The Government leader also highlighted the need to promote growth by revitalising traditional growth drivers, and fostering new ones; and strengthen inspections and address difficulties and obstacles to accelerate the disbursement of public investment capital, especially for key national projects.

Attention should be paid to intensifying the promotion and attraction of large-scale, high-tech FDI projects, particularly in industries such as processing and manufacturing, electronics, semiconductors, and hydrogen. Promptly removing difficulties and obstacles faced by FDI enterprises is essential to accelerate the progress of these projects.

Additionally, the Prime Minister requested the development of proactive plans to implement appropriate solutions to promote balanced and sustainable trade with major partners, including the US, China, and others, along with the utilisation of the 17 signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), amd efforts to advance negotiations towards the signing of new ones.

Focus should also be placed on specific measures to stimulate consumer demand, promote e-commerce, and encourage cashless payments, Chinh stressed.

The leader urged the continued handling of longstanding and unresolved issues, assigning ministries, sectors, and localities, according to their functions, duties, and authority, to focus on addressing delayed projects, especially in the real estate field, to avoid wastefulness.

He also directed attention to key areas such as culture, society, environmental protection, disaster prevention, and climate change adaptation, while highlighting the importance of further intensifying the fight against corruption, negative phenomena, and wastefulness.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the country saw positive results in socio-economic performance in the first two months, surpassing those made in the same period last year. Both domestic and international businesses, investors, and international credit rating agencies have shown greater confidence in the nation’s economic prospects.

The consumer price index (CPI) in the period increased 3.27% year-on-year. State budget revenue reached 25.4% of the annual estimate, up 25.7%. The export-import turnover grew by 12%, with a trade surplus of 1.47 billion USD. Foreign direct investment (FDI) reached over 6.9 billion USD, a rise of 35.5%, while FDI disbursement hit nearly 3 billion USD, up 5.4%.

Industrial production has seen strong growth, with the index of ✅industrial production (IIP) up 16.7% in February and 7% in the two-month period./.