The Vietnamese government opened up its economy further in the late 1990s and early 2000s by facilitating the creation of necessary infrastructure that nurtured the growth of private corporations. (image: Pixabay)
SEOUL, Nov. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Ri Yong-ho, the North Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs, is planning to visit Vietnam for four days starting today.
During his visit, Ri is expected to experience firsthand Vietnam’s Doi Moi policy, a series of economic reforms initiated in 1986 with the goal of creating a “socialist-oriented market economy.”
Vietnam in the 1980s was plagued with steep inflation after the end of the Vietnam War and a border war with China that saw a 700 percent increase in price levels.
The Doi Moi policy was a last resort that was successful in not only stabilizing the economy but creating momentum for further growth. In 1987, Vietnam passed a new law that paved the way for foreign investment.
In addition, the Vietnamese government changed its land laws to recognize security rights, users’ rights and inheritance rights which were previously outlawed by the Communist government.
The Vietnamese government opened up its economy further in the late 1990s and early 2000s by facilitating the creation of necessary infrastructure that nurtured the growth of private corporations.
Thanks to such efforts, Vietnam’s GDP growth rate recorded 6.7 percent this year as of September, and is expected to surpass the 6.98 percent mark this year alone.
In addition, the Vietnamese government announced recently that it expects foreign direct investment to reach a record-breaking high of $18 billion by the year’s end.
Of course, such a high rate of economic growth comes with its own problems.
The polarization of the poor and the wealthy, the expansion of corruption, and increased environmental pollution are just some of the social issues that the Vietnamese government must now deal with.
H. S. Seo (hsseo@koreabizwire.com)
