VIETNAM ‘S DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN THE COMING DECADE

AND BEYOND

By Ĉ͟ Hoài Nam
Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences

Vietnam entered its strategic development period 2011-2020 as a developing

country of low-medium income. Vietnam‘s development goal for the period 2011-
2020 is basically to become a modern industrialized country of middle income. In
my opinion, the country ‘s development strategies for 2011-2020 and for several
decades after that must lay the ground for the country to successfully cut short its
developing period, escape the “middle income trap” and become an developed
industrial country of high income.

To achieve these highly-aimed goals, Vietnam has to implement its vision till 2050
towards a shortcut modern development, appropriately combine international
resources brought about by science and technology revolution, knowledge-based
economy, globalization and international integration with national resources and
latecomer advantages. Based on the vision till 2050, we need to specify catch-up
strategies for every 10-year period. The strategies for 2011-2020 need to be seen as
the first set of a linked series of strategies aiming at actualizing the vision, focusing
on new human-centered and human capital-based models of growth, on promoting
re-structuring of the national economy towards higher efficiency and quality, on
optimal combination of development priorities in both quality and quantity and
making the most of labor forces, especially rural labor.

The challenges that Vietnam is to face in its implementation of strategies to

catch up and leap over the “middle income trap” are fierce. Vietnam has just got
out of the list of poor countries and its achievements are not really sustainable. The
infrastructure of its economy, its urban and rural areas are not well-developed; its
economy is weak in specialization and competitiveness; its number of quality
skilled workers is still too small; its science and technology standards are still low
in comparing to the region.

Although the challenges are very fierce, Vietnam is willing to face and overcome
them. For this reason, despite the fact that it is ranked lowest in the list of low-
medium income countries, Vietnam has started to study about the “middle income
trap”, about successful and unsuccessful stories and even failures of several
countries in the world, especially in Asia. The purpose is to learn lessons from past
experience for Vietnam to answer the question: “What does Vietnam need to do to
get away from “the middle income trap” in 20-30 years?” Based on the answer to
that question, Vietnam will have to gradually lay the grounds on which the problem
is to be solved, starting from the development strategies for 2011-2020.

The grounds to be built by the development strategies for 2011-2020, in our

opinion, include:

• Establish the political socio-economic cultural and human grounds for fast
and sustainable development of the country in the period of 2011-2050.
• Attach great importance to human resource, promote education and training
of international standards; establish frameworks for better use of long-term
advantages created by Vietnamese people.

• Strongly develop agriculture and rural areas, using modern models, to best
handle issues related to farmers, agriculture and rural areas; Reduce poverty
sustainably and create favorable conditions for farmers to lead better lives
and for rural areas to prosper without losing typical cultural features of
Vietnam. This is a very important ground that enables social and political

 
 stability that is needed to carry out catch-up and shortcut strategies to
development.
• Develop catch-up industrial and technological strategies and policies;
actively and proactively participate in global value chains; develop internal
capacity of the nation and enterprises to receive modern production and
technology transferred to Vietnam by multi-national corporations, economic
powers and strategic partners.

• Strongly develop ocean and coastal economy, focal economic areas, driving
economic areas, free economic areas, free trade areas and supportive
industrial zones on the principle of specialization and modern technology.
This needs to be seen as a critical focus in restructuring the economy and
transforming models of growth.
• Gradually develop Vietnamese large-sized multiple-ownership corporations
with unlimited capital contribution from private domestic and international
investors; simultaneously promote the development of small and medium-
sized enterprises of relevant technology.

• Reform the allocation mechanism of social resources for development,

especially primary allocation. Improve efficiency of state investment and
state-owned economic sector; attach importance to investment from private
sector and establish policies and mechanisms that strongly promote
investment of the private sector. Respect objective rules of market economy
and the allocation role of the market. Handle well the relations between the
market and the state in allocating resources for catch-up strategies.
• Build comprehensive infrastructure needed for exploiting and promoting
resources for the fast and economically sustainable development; reduce
enterprises’ costs of entry.
• Develop social security system that covers all social classes of all regions
across the country to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, to reduce

 
 social disparity, to protect peasants, the poor and the disadvantaged from
development changes and risks.
• Build up a strong government capable of leading the modern development
shortcut, of planning and organizing the successful implementation of catch-
up strategies and national risk management strategies in the context of global
changes and unexpectability.
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Vietnam is having many opportunities interwoven with challenges in successfully
selecting and implementing its vision and shortcut development strategies to catch
up and advance. Vietnam’s most valuable capital is human resource. Its most
sustainable long-term advantages are also those created by Vietnamese people and
Vietnamese minds. Taking good care of and developing Vietnamese people is the
vital condition that decides its success in becoming a modern industrialized country
of middle income by 2020 and in getting away from the middle income trap and
becoming a developed industrial country of high income in the fifties of this
century.