Hanoi (VNA) - Measures to reach the growth target of 6.7 percent in 2018 werediscussed at a teleconference betweenthe Government and localities on July 2.

According to Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, to realisethe yearly goal, GDP must reach 6.53 percent in the third quarter and 6.36percent in the final quarter.

However, he noted that the national economy would face many challenges in thesecond half of 2018 as the main drivers of growth are not as clear as in 2017.

Tradetensions are spreading among the US, China and the EU, bringing both challengesand opportunities to Vietnam’s economy.

Vietnamcan take advantage of opportunities to promote export or import of cheap goods,while accelerating the restructuring of imported material market to cope with newdifficulties.

Dung stressed the need to speed up the restructuring of the economy in the restof the year, focusing on improving quality to increase the resilience of the nationaleconomy to unpredictable world changes.

Healso called for the acceleration of public investment disbursement, especiallyfor projects that can help increase production capacity, and key projects likeLong Thanh International Airport, the expansion of Tan Son Nhat InternationalAirport, the North-South Highway and non-stop automatic toll collection stations.

He said the Ministry of Planning and Investment will carry out a 30-year reviewof foreign investment attraction in Vietnam, which will also propose policies  to attract investment to large, quality and greenprojects related to infrastructure and energy development.

On the financial sector, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung pointed out thefact that many localities have not strictly followed budget discipline asbudget overspending remains an issue.

It is necessary to tighten budget discipline and push administrative reform tosupport enterprises’ operation in the remaining months of the year, he said.

According to Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, the target of 10-percentexport growth in 2018  is likely to beachieved.

However,he noted that attention should be paid to expanding markets and removingdifficulties for businesses in the second half of the year.

Regarding monetary policy management, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam(SBV) Le Minh Hung affirmed that the SBV is willing to intervene in the foreigncurrency market to control the stability of the exchange rate, avoiding the impactof macro instability.

Concluding the teleconference, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc hailed effortsin business environment improvement but said that the reform level is uneven.

He warned over a lack of responsibility among some officials.

He asked ministries and agencies to issue revised lists of business conditionsin the sectors they are in charge of and submit them to the Government beforeAugust 15.-VNA