The Vietnamese Prime Minister said economic growth will likely accelerate next year after falling short of forecasts in 2021, as the country aims to recover manufacturing and exports following the pandemic.

Premier Pham Minh Chinh forecasts Vietnam’s GDP will grow in a range of between 6-6.5% in 2022.

The Prime Minister was speaking at the opening of Parliament's autumn session, setting the economic direction for the coming year, as the government works on repairing the economy battered by lockdowns, closures and supply chain problems.

“The country faced increasing difficulties with the outbreak of the Delta variant this year, which challenged the resiliency of its economy,” Chinh said. He promised enhanced flexibility from authorities to help steer the country’s recovery and ease supply chain issues. He went on to add that regulators will be flexible in managing monetary policy.

The impact of the Delta variant of coronavirus led GDP to plummet 6.17% in Q3, the worst performance since the government started to monitor the figure.

Policymakers see the economy growing by 2.5-3% this year, a long way from the 6.5% forecast set this time last year.

Furthermore, Chinh added that Vietnam’s labour market will recover and become more stable in 2022: "There are still some hidden risks that could slow economic recovery and growth if the epidemic cannot be fundamentally controlled to reopen the economy," he said.

In addition, he forecasts inflation will be around 4% next year, while under that level in 2021. Exports in 2021 will grow 10.7% the PM added. He didn’t provide an outlook for next year.

The Prime Minister’s forecast will be utilised by Parliament as it establishes its official economic targets for 2022, before the session concludes in the middle of next month.