Vietnam’s legislators have set an economic growth target of 6.5 percent for next year, asking the government to reform the economy for sustainable growth.

The top legislative body projected the service and industry-construction sectors would expand 7.5 percent and 7 percent respectively this year, while the resolution also targeted 2.8 percent growth in the agriculture sector. The assembly expected exports to grow by more than 6 percent.

The lawmakers said in the resolution that inflation should be capped under seven percent, calling it a “very difficult task” that would require aggressive measures.

But the assembly could not reach agreement on the government budget deficit next year. The deficit target is expected to be announced in another resolution later.

Many lawmakers said last month they wanted the government to cut the deficit to 6 percent of gross domestic product from an estimated 6.9 percent this year. But Finance Minister Vu Van Ninh said the government was aiming to keep the budget deficit at 6.5 percent of GDP in 2010 because revenue sources were not expected to grow.

In Friday’s resolution, the National Assembly proposed 12 measures for the government to push economic development, including requests to set up a stimulus fund and reform state-owned companies.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said last month that the government expected Vietnam’s GDP growth this year to hit a decade-low of 5.2 percent, in line with a target of around 5 percent set earlier by the assembly.

Source: Thanh Nien