The Government convened its monthly meeting on 2 February under the chair of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, with the latest COVID-19 outbreak right ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday (Tet) among issues high on the agenda.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (centre) speaks at the Government meeting on 2 February (Photo: VNA)

In his opening remarks, PM Phuc said the meeting followed the successful organisation of the 13^th National Party Congress, which adopted many important documents of the Party, creating the foundation for further national development in the time ahead.

Talking about new COVID-19 outbreaks, he noted 271 locally-infected cases have been recorded in 10 provinces and cities nationwide since 27 January, adding that the Government, the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, the Ministry of Health, and localities have taken concerted and drastic action to respond to the pandemic.

Although there remain certain complex developments, the outbreaks have been basically brought under control, he said, asking Government members to deliberate the allocation of COVID-19 vaccine to people right in the first quarter of 2021.

Telling officials to discuss governing measures in the face of the new coronavirus outbreaks’ impacts on the economy, PM Phuc emphasised the importance of capitalising on opportunities and creating a more favourable environment to attract both domestic and foreign investment, particularly from tech firms like Foxconn, and encourage others such as Intel and Samsung to expand their projects.

He requested the promotion of “three new economic spaces”: the domestic economy with a market of nearly 100 million people, the international economy with a number of free trade agreements signed, and the digital economy.

Data from the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed that the economy continued recovering in January, which can be seen most clearly in industrial production - up 22.2 percent from a year earlier, especially over 27 percent in the processing - manufacturing industry.

Retail sales and consumer service revenue also increased 3.7 percent month-on-month and 6.4 percent year-on-year to 479.9 trillion VND (20.8 billion USD).

Other figures also revealed improvements in the economy compared to the same period last year. Trade revenue in January grew 45.2 percent to about 53.9 billion USD. That included 27 billion USD in exports, up 46.7 percent, and 26.9 billion USD in imports, up 43.7 percent, resulting in a trade surplus of 100 million USD.

During its meeting, the Government looked into the preparation for Tet, the proposed law and ordinance making programme for 2022 and revisions to the law and ordinance making programme for 2021, and some other issues.