(VOVworld)- According to the draft document of the 12^th National Party Congress, Vietnam has revised its goal of becoming a modern industrial nation to creating a firm foundation for becoming a modern industrial nation by 2020. Party members and economists say the new goal is more realistic.

The goal of making Vietnam a modern industrial nation by 2020 set by the Communist Party of Vietnam at its 7^th National Congress in 1991 has become infeasible. The main reason for this failure is that Vietnam has not completed its economic restructuring and for too long has maintained a single growth model which is inappropriate for increasing competitiveness and integration.

Optimizing opportunities for development

Economist Tran Du Lich, a National Assembly deputy, has pointed out two opportunities that Vietnam needs to capitalize on a stable macro-economy and Vietnam’s increasing status in the world: “Based on our potential and position, we can do much better. We need to accelerate restructuring in the next five years to strengthen national industrialization. We need to continue reforming our institutions because it spurs development. We also need to mobilize all our resources and use our human resource more effectively”.

Deputy Secretary General of the Association for Liaison with Overseas Vietnamese Doctor Pham Gia Minh said it’s important to define the criteria of a modern industrial nation in terms of the development level of the economy and society. At the same time, industrialization and modernization need to be integrated with the socialist-oriented market economy and international integration while focusing on promoting a knowledge-based economy and applying science and technology. Doctor Pham Gia Minh stressed the importance of developing an appropriate economic and labor structure, promoting productivity and competitiveness, and participating more fully in the global production network and global value chain. Minh said:“We should develop market services like those in the Republic of Korea, Taiwan (China), and Singapore. We follow their lead but must acknowledge our own need to reduce our indirect labor force. We need to ensure adequate salaries for our direct employees. Productivity is one of the keys to further integration”.

Human resources play a key role

People’s Teacher Vu Duong Minh of Hanoi National University says human resources play an important role in building an industrial society: “In an industrial society, people must practice industrial working and living styles. Discipline needs to be strict in production and society. So if we intend to develop an industrial society, we need to change our mindset, our working and living styles. Being disciplined is of foremost importance”.

To set a more realistic target, the Communist Party of Vietnam relaxed the deadline for Vietnam to become a modern industrial nation from 2020 to a relative timeframe of “soon”. The adjustment allows Vietnam to be more flexible in achieving its goal by taking into account actual conditions.