Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the meeting

PM Phuc noted that after 99 days of no COVID-19 community infection, a new outbreak appeared in late July, affecting some localities, especially Da Nang city and Quang Nam and Dak Lak provinces, with several deaths.

He underlined the determination of the Government to once again contain the pandemic, and noted that necessary resources have been mobilised to serve epidemic control efforts in major hotbeds, including the sending of thousands of medical workers from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang.

The Government leader also hailed efforts of medical staff as well as localities in extinguishing the pandemic.

Stressing the policy of not allowing interruption in economic activities, the PM said various measures have been rolled out to remove difficulties, while public investment disbursement has been sped up, resulting in a record rise in disbursed amount in July.

He said that despite the global economic crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the strategic competition among world powers, major international organisations and financial institutions still made optimistic assessments about the Vietnamese economy.

The World Bank forecast on July 30 that Vietnam will come fifth in the world in 2020 in economic growth with 2.8 percent, while The Economist magazine called Vietnam as a favourite hub for investors and an important part of the world technology supply chain. These showed the confidence of investors and financial institutions in the Vietnamese economy, according to the PM.

He highlighted stable macro-economic situation and growing agriculture, industry and service sectors, as well as positive signs in foreign direct investment with 14.4 percent growth in July and disbursement of over 10.1 billion USD. Meanwhile, social welfare was ensured, as was social security, order and safety as well as defence and foreign relations.

July also witnessed strong recovery in the number of newly-formed businesses, the PM said, asking Government members to seek ways to maintain the operation of the newly-established businesses, especially in major hubs of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

In the second quarter and the first half of 2020, 30.8 million people were affected by COVID-19 pandemic, including 2.4 million workers who became unemployed. The ratio of unemployment rose 2.73 percent in the whole country and 4.46 percent in urban areas. About 17 million people suffered from income reduction due to the pandemic.

Amidst the effects of the second wave of COVID-19, the PM required the Government to outline policies for the remaining five months of 2020, especially those in social welfare and labourers.

He mentioned the need to ensure a safe and successful organisation of the high-school graduation exam slated for August 8-10./.VNA