Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh: We must rise up strongly, not be allowed to weaken.

On April 7, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a conference between the Prime Minister and ministries, branches, associations, businesses and Vietnamese representative agencies abroad to proactively adapt to the new situation in international trade.

The conference was held directly at the Government headquarters and online with Vietnamese representative agencies abroad.

Attending the conference were Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son; ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, government agencies; leaders of ministries, branches, central agencies, provinces and centrally run cities; leaders of business associations, industries and leaders of 94 Vietnamese representative agencies abroad.

Opening the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that the current situation in the world and the region is changing very quickly, complicatedly, with more difficulties and challenges than opportunities and advantages. At the same time, he said that this is also normal since the beginning of the term, from the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to conflicts in regions causing disruptions in production chains, supply chains, natural disasters, storms and floods.

Currently, the United States is applying a new tariff policy, affecting the world economy in general, including our country. The situation may be difficult, but not as difficult as the early years of renovation and even less difficult than the period when Vietnam had to fight for national independence, was surrounded and embargoed.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that whenever there are difficulties, our people and our country have more courage and experience to rise up and respond more effectively to the practical situation.

Today, our country has matured, grown stronger, and is capable of adapting flexibly and effectively to any events or changes that occur in the world and the region; “turning nothing into something, turning difficult into easy, turning the impossible into possible” as President Ho Chi Minh taught “Nothing is difficult/Only fear of not being steadfast/Digging mountains and filling seas/With determination, it will be done” and as our ancestors said “High mountains have paths to climb/Even dangerous roads have paths to take.”

Informing delegates about the socio-economic development situation, the Prime Minister said that despite difficulties, the socio-economic situation of our country in the first quarter of 2025 continued to develop positively, with each month higher than the previous month, and each quarter higher than the previous quarter.

The macro economy is basically stable, inflation is controlled, growth is promoted, and major economic balances are ensured. GDP in the first quarter of 2025 increased by 6.93%.

State budget revenue in the first quarter reached 36.7% of the annual estimate, up 29.3% over the same period. Public debt, government debt, and national foreign debt were well controlled. Import-export turnover increased by 13.7%, with an estimated trade surplus of 3.16 billion USD.

Registered foreign direct investment (FDI) reached nearly 11 billion USD, up 34.7% over the same period.

The cultural and social fields are of interest and have made much progress. Social security is ensured, in which the whole country strives to basically eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses by 2025. Security and politics are stable. Independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity are maintained. Foreign relations are strengthened, with many exciting high-level activities between Vietnam and other countries.

The Prime Minister said that Vietnam is a developing country with a transitional economy, modest economic scale, low starting point, and high openness, so fluctuations in the world can affect our country.

The US's application of new tariff policies may pose difficulties and challenges for Vietnam's economy, but this is also an opportunity for us to restructure the economy, restructure, diversify markets, and diversify supply chains.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh pointed out that we must rise up strongly, not be allowed to weaken, note that the more difficult it is, the more united we must be, the more we must join forces and be of one mind; affirming that our Party has no other goal than to bring independence and freedom to the nation, protect independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, happiness and prosperity to the people.

The Prime Minister asked delegates to assess the situation, analyze the difficulties and challenges faced, and at the same time point out opportunities and recommend solutions to continue rapid and sustainable development; in the immediate future, to achieve the growth target of 8% in 2025.

From there, we will create momentum, force, and position to achieve double-digit growth in the coming time to achieve the two 100-year goals, bringing our country into a period of rising to become rich, civilized, prosperous, and becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045.