Rice exported through Saigon Port.

Algeria’s international weekly “Young Africa” has hailed Vietnam’s open-door and economic development policy, urging Algeria to follow its steps.

The article pointed out similarities between Algerian and Vietnamese patriotism, saying the latter won victories in two struggles for national liberation and promoted its patriotism in developing its economy.

The country of President Ho Chi Minh has created a “socialist-oriented market economy”, bringing itself an annual average growth rate of 5%, though it has no special advantage in natural resources and a population of 86 million which is possibly a disadvantage, the paper said.

According to the paper, over 20 years of implementing its open-door policy, Vietnam has reduced its poverty rate from 70% to 11%.

Unlike Algeria, the paper said, Vietnam has pursued an open-door policy. It joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1995 and reached a bilateral trade agreement with the US in 1999. The country became a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2007, which drove up its exports and helped it attract US$11 billion in foreign investment every year, four times higher than Algeria .

Vietnam has also not limited its activities to footwear production. The country has focused on the development of coffee, rubber, electronics and tourism.

Vietnam, led its the Communist Party, maintained private firms even during the regional financial crisis in 1997, and its commitments were applauded by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the paper added.

Titled “why do Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur exceed Algiers”, the article also mentioned Malaysia’s economic development as another example for Algeria. (VNA)