Government' year-end meeting




Ha Noi, Dec. 27 (VNA) -- The Government held its regular year-end meeting in Ha Noi on Dec. 27 to review implementation of socio-economic development tasks in December and the year and define major socio-economic development tasks for the first quarter of next year.

The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and his deputies Nguyen Tan Dzung, Nguyen Manh Cam and Pham Gia Khiem.

The Government affirmed that the country had seen continued development in social and economic affairs in December. All major targets set for the year 2000 had been fulfilled or surpassed as reported by the Government at the eighth session of the tenth National Assembly.

In 2000, the gross domestic product growth rate reached 6.7 percent while agricultural, forestry and fishery production rose by 4.9 percent and industrial production value, by 15.5 percent, over 1999. Food production registered an output of 35.7 million tonnes and the services' growth rate hit 6 percent.

The Government has focused its instructions and guidances on all fields over the past year. It has paid due attention to solve urgent issues, worked out policies of long-term and fundamental significance, built up legal documents and macro-policies and participated in drafting documents which will be presented to the upcoming Ninth National Party Congress.

In 2001, the Government will concentrate its activities on improving the quality of social activities, expanding external economic activities and actively integrating into the international economy, effectively implementing policies towards ethnic minority people, and ensuring national security and defence and social order. It wil also accelerat administrative reform, increase State management efficiency, improve the quality of judicial agencies, and enhance the settlement of citizens' complaints.

Concluding the meeting, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai said that in its working programme for 2001, the Government planned to obtain an economic growth rate higher than that in 2000 in parallel with boosting social activities.--VNA