Addressing the event, former Minister of Trade (now the Minister of Trade and Industry), Truong Dinh Tuyen, emphasised that despite an increase in export volume, Vietnam suffered a reduction its export turnover due to fluctuations in goods prices caused by global economic downturn.

However, the country introduced a number of measures to boost exports and create more favourable conditions for local exporters. Vietnam also participated in free trade agreements to help the country increase its export growth. Thanks to the trade agreement with the US, Vietnam’s export turnover from the US has increased by 15 times and the country is expected to maintain its growth rate at 7.5 percent in the next ten years, from 2011 to 2020, he said.

Shahid Yusuf, an expert from the WB, who conducted much research on the East Asian economies, expressed his concern over the recovery of the global economy. “It is necessary to diversify and increase investment sources, as well as sharpen the competitive edge”, he said.

Yongding Yu, an economist from Beijing, said the global economy is recovering slowly, and cannot reach pre-crisis levels easily. 

Other participants at the seminar focused their discussions on issues related to exports and competitiveness in Asia.