Andrea Coppola, World Bank Lead Economist for Vietnam (Photo: WB) Hanoi (VNA) - Andrea Coppola, World Bank Lead Economist forVietnam, has described Vietnam in 2023 as resilient, sayingthat amid the global economic slowdown, the Southeast Asian nation was still able tosustain a rate of growth that many other countries in the rest of the world canonly dream about.
According to Coppola, Vietnam is considered one of the most open economies in the world. Itsstrong trade relations with the rest of the world are a source of strength andsuccess. Vietnam’s economic performance in 2023 is positive when the verychallenging global context is put into consideration.
Economic growth in the US was about 2.5% in2023, he said, adding that in the European area, economic growth was evenweaker at about 0.5%. Despite the global challenges, Vietnam was able tocontinue growing at relatively fast rates.
The last part of the 2023 showed signs ofeconomic recovery in the country, he said, noting that this recovery isdriven by three main factors: a gradual recovery of external demand forVietnamese exports, increasing public investment, and resilient privateconsumption.
Vietnam also raised a lot of attention in 2023as media outlets with global reach have published articles to underscore thecountry’s performance and potential, he said, stressing that the visits ofworld leaders to Vietnam also attracted even more the attention of theinternational community.
According to the economist, Vietnam is an appealing destination forinternational investors because of its economic and political stability and itscapacity to integrate in the global economy.
He stressed that in such a context, it iscritical for the country to continue strengthening the business environment andattract private investors’ attention to fully take advantage of impact ofglobal geopolitical developments on international investment and trade.
After the global slowdown experienced in 2023,global economic growth is expected to decelerate further in 2024, including inkey trade partners of Vietnam such as the US, Coppola said.
The WB hopes that the demand for Vietnamese exportsfrom the rest of the world will recover in 2024, he said, recommending Vietnam toleverage its internal strength and boost the productivity growth of itsdomestic economy to transform the challenges provided by the global economicslowdown into an opportunity to further strengthen its economic growth model.
Authorities can play an important role tosupport the economy through fiscal policy, particularly by accelerating theimplementation of transformational public investment and infrastructureprojects which are going to strengthen economic growth both in the short termand in the longer term, he said.
According to the expert, Vietnamese people arethe greatest source of the country’s internal strength, so he suggested Vietnamcontinue promoting the private sector development and boosting productivity by upskilling the labour force and physical capital developmentthrough public investments in transport and energy infrastructure that canfurther strengthen the competitiveness of the private sector.
🌠 According to Vietnam’s Macro and Poverty Outlook released by theWB in October, Vietnam’s economic growth is expected to slow to 4.7% thisyear before recovering to 5.5 % in 2024 and 6.0 % in 2025./.
