Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has long treasured the substantial benefitsof free trade, particularly amidst the formidable challenges posed by globaltrade protectionism which is currently threatening bilateral and multilateraltrade deals, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said.

Attending the Vietnam Business Summit 2018 themed “Vietnam, Trusted BusinessPartner: Connection and Creativity” in Hanoi on September 13 in the frameworkof the World Economic Forum on ASEAN (WEF ASEAN) 2018, PM Phuc said thatVietnam’s reform achievements over the last 30 years of its open-door andintegration policies have been made alongside the trend of global tradeliberalisation.

Despite considerable difficulties, open-door policies really are virtues to theVietnamese economy, he stressed.

However, he said that the economy still falls short by its expectations, withVietnamese firms still not deeply footed in global value chains.

Although 51 percent of Vietnamese small- and medium-sized enterprises enterglobal value chain (higher than average 41 percent recorded in the ASEAN),their proportion in the chain is a far cry from their potential and settargets, he said, adding that international research has shown that manycompanies are now in their initial phase and still unstainable.

Thus, Vietnam should better its position in the global value chain by enhancingconnections with foreign direct investment firms, he said, asking Vietnamese enterprisesto improve their capacity.

Vietnam has been presented as an important gateway in the ASEAN bloc and signeda line-up of free trade deals – like the Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-PacificPartnership (CPTPP) – which will brings various opportunities to gain a footholdin new markets, he underlined.

On Vietnam’s economic achievements, WEF President Borge Brender said that ineight years since the last WEF held in Vietnam in 2010, the local economy haswitnessed fantastic growth, with gross domestic product (GDP) doubling andexport revenue tripling.

Vietnam is on track to achieve an economic growth of nearly 7 percent this year,while also experiencing a rapid development of foreign investment. The povertyrate declined significantly to 3 percent from 50 percent in 1990s, he said.

Dramatic improvements have been seen in Government debt, the banking sector,trade, and business environment, he stated, pointing his finger at the economy’sweaker point which need to be addressed, such as education quality and labourefficiency.

Mobilising all economic resources to get involved in the Fourth IndustrialRevolution is also a challenge, he added. –VNA