Vietnamese, Canadian deputy foreign ministers hold phone talks

At a meeting in the city on March 12, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue said that while the top task at present is to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, another important mission is to prevent the decline of economic growth.

The Party board of the municipal People’s Committee reported that tourism is hardest hit due to strong declines in the numbers of visitors from three main markets where the virus is raging through - China, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan. Tourists from the three markets make up 37% of the total number of foreigners to Hanoi.

Industrial production has also suffered as 15% of exports and 50% of imports depend on China and the RoK.

Investment from Japan, the RoK and China, which accounts for 41.5% of the total foreign investment in Hanoi, is forecast to decline.

On the other hand, agriculture expects to see 3% growth. The production of medical supplies and health products as well as the pharmaceutical industry are also forecast to post high growth.

Besides, the wave of shifting investment out of China due to the epidemic and the China-US trade tension is also an opportunity for Hanoi.

Based on the outcomes in January-February, Hanoi has drafted three growth scenarios and selected the first one to strive towards, within which, the city aims for a 7.51% GRDP growth in 2020 and 7.37% on average during 2016-2020.

The key solutions are well controlling the disease, promoting business production, and intensifying administrative reforms.

The city will also work to improve business and investment environment, remove difficulties for businesses, attract more investment, and accelerate the implementations of major projects.