Economic reforms aim to broaden choices for residents, said Vo TriThanh, Vice Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management(CIEM) at a conference evaluating achievements and challenges for theVietnamese economy held in Hanoi on June 23.

After 30 years ofDoi Moi (reform), Vietnam has become a middle-income country with aneconomy shifting toward industrialisation and a high level of globalintegration in addition to realising a raft of millennium developmentgoals. However, the economy suffers from low quality of growth and theworkforce, high transaction costs and inefficiency in state-ownedenterprises and public investment.

Thanh underscored that mindsetshifts and resolve of the whole political system play crucial roles ineffective reform while the liberalisation of trade, investment andintegration will help enhance Vietnam’s comparative advantage.

Macro-economic stabilisation, institutional reform and private sector development also contribute to effective reform, he added.

Atthe conference, participants discussed visions for economic reform anddevelopment progress through 2035 and sought solutions to addressfinancial instability, including striving for a balanced financialsystems, improving the capacity of financial supervision, stabilisingthe macro-economy, maintaining flexible exchange rates and boosting thecapacity and independence of the central bank.

Meanwhile,economist Cao Viet Sinh recommended improvements in public investmentefficiency and completing a legal framework for Government purchase andpublic-private partnerships.-VNA