OECD urges bold reforms as Vietnam targets inclusive, double-digit growth
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reaffirms its commitment to supporting the country’s long-term development goals.
THE HANOI TIMES — The OECD has called on Vietnam to accelerate macroeconomic reform and institutional strengthening as it strives for inclusive, transparent, and sustainable development.
The recommendations were released in the "OECD Economic Surveys: Vietnam 2025" during a report launch seminar held in Hanoi on June 20.
The report analyzes Vietnam’s macroeconomic foundations and outlines strategies to maintain growth through international integration, policy reforms, and energy transition.
OECD Chief Economist Álvaro Pereira hands over the Vietnam Economic Survey 2025 to a Vietnamese representative. Photo: Phi Nhat/The Hanoi Times
The OEDC experts urged Vietnam to pursue balanced fiscal policies, expand its tax base, improve monetary tools, and strengthen social welfare and the labor market by formalizing the informal economy.
To achieve long-term sustainability, the experts also recommended that Vietnam promote green growth through carbon trading systems and renewable energy development.
“The country is also encouraged to adopt international best practices in attracting high-quality foreign direct investment by strengthening intellectual property rights, improving human capital, and building linkages among foreign firms,” the report noted.
At the launch, OECD Chief Economist Álvaro Pereira highlighted Vietnam’s remarkable progress, emphasizing the importance of trade and the country's entrepreneurial spirit and ambition for prosperity.
Meanwhile, OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann praised Vietnam’s economic achievements over the past few decades, marked by real GDP per capita in 2023, which was 5.7 times higher than in 1990.
Cormann said that Vietnam’s integration into the global economy since the late 1980s has been key to its success.
Tran Bao Ngoc, Director General of the Department of Economic Diplomacy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized the importance of the OECD-Vietnam partnership, especially in implementing the 2022–2026 Action Plan under the bilateral Memorandum of Understanding and the OECD Economic Survey 2025.
Ngoc reiterated Vietnam’s aim for over 8% GDP growth by 2025 and double-digit growth afterward, driven by exports, investment, and domestic consumption, and supported by digital transformation, green economy development, productivity, and innovation.
Ngoc said that the OECD’s economic surveys, including the Multi-dimensional Review 2020 and the 2023 and 2025 Economic Surveys, are valuable tools for Vietnam in accessing the 2021–2025 socioeconomic development plan and supporting the 2021–2030 national strategy.
The launch event included a policy dialogue with representatives from the OECD, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Vietnam, Deloitte Vietnam, and the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in Vietnam.
The discussions focused on how to achieve Vietnam’s double-digit growth targets, improve foreign investment quality, and implement institutional reforms for better governance and resource allocation.
