In developing market economy with a socialist orientation, the Party and State of Vietnam have stated that economic development should be closely associated with the effective settlement of social issues. Realities show that Vietnam's constant growth should first of all go to its satisfactory settlement of social issues.

Better care for country's contributors

During the 30-year long resistance wars against the French colonialists and the American aggressors for national salvation, millions of Vietnamese people had laid down their lives or now live with life-time wounds.

Since the start of the anti-French resistance war, the Communist Party of Vietnam, the State and people have provided good care for war invalids and families of war martyrs, and State contributors.

Vietnam now has 8.2 million people, including 46,770 Heroic Mothers (6,000 of them are still alive), more than 665,000 war invalids and ill solders, around 500,000 relatives from families of martyrs, around 9,000 elderly revolutionaries, and 15,000 pre-insurrection cadres, and millions of contributors, who have enjoyed constant special treatment or received orders and medals.

In 2007, policies on State contributors were further perfected to reach all beneficiaries with allowance increased in accordance with the country's economic development.

State contributors' living standards have improved with the State's care and the gratitude showing movement nationwide.

Each year the State spends VND 8,000 billion implementing priority policies on State contributors, who enjoy educational and training priority, tax cut and production encouragement.

The gratitude showing movement not only shows society's responsibility as shown in Vietnamese people's tradition expression 'when drinking water, remember its source' but also mobilised thousands of billions of Vietnam dong for the gratitude showing fund, which was used to build 250,000 gratitude showing houses, repair and upgrade 105,000 houses, provide saving accounts for 604,000 people, not to mention 15,000 charity fruit gardens.

So far, 9,700 communes and wards have been recognised as to have sucessfully implemented policies on State contributors. As a result, more than 85% of State contributors have had a better living standard than the average level in their localities.

The combined strength of the State and society has helped State contributors have a better life, both materially and spiritually, and created favourable conditions for the country's economic development.

Poverty reduction in sustainable manner

Initiated in Ho Chi Minh City in 1992, the poverty reduction and hunger elimination movement (the National Programme on Poverty Reduction today) has changed its criteria three times and each time, its quality has improved.

The local and international public considers Vietnam a country that has successfully implemented the Millennium Goals on Poverty Reduction with some good experience and lessons. Vietnam completed its Millennium Goals on Poverty Reduction in a context of high GDP growth rate over a number of consecutive years. In 2007, Vietnam witnessed a 8.5% GDP growth rate and the country's number of poor households fell from 18.1% in 2006 to 14.7%.

Soft loans were effectively provided for poor households via the Bank for Social Policies of Vietnam. In 2006, around four million poor households received loans of the kind via the bank to develop their cultivation and animal husbandry. In 2007, the number of households, that received soft loans, rose. The loans were reported to have been effectively used thanks to training courses, agricultural and fisheries extension programmes within each locality's programmes on poverty reduction.

A striking feature in poverty reduction work in Vietnam in 2007 was its sustainability with 400 infrastructure works in difficult communes and places in 2006 and 2007.

In addition, attention was given to the development of poverty reduction models in localities. Successful models of the kind were transferred from a locality to another, helping poor people attain a better living.

Furthermore, poor households received support in education and health care, thus helping them improve their living standard.

Concretely, through activities within the 'Day for the Poor' and the Fund for the Poor, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and localities mobilised hundreds of billions of Vietnam dong to help around 75,000 poor households have new houses and 7,000 others have their houses repaired and upgraded.

However, the number of poor households that need help remains high.

In 2007, Vietnam was hit by floods and storms that inflicted severe human and property losses to Central Vietnam and the Central Highlands. Therefore, people in the region are facing a high risk of being thrown back into poverty.

In the context, the State and society should have greater care and create more favourable conditions for the people in the region to recover after natural disasters.

Improved vocational training and job creation

Vietnam is accelerating its economic development in the direction of industrialisation and modernisation and the country is being required to have a higher quality labour force.

To meet the requirement, the vocational training service in Vietnam is forming a network of 40 colleges, 232 schools and 599 centres, not to mention thousands of other establishments.

Under the Law on Vocational Training, Vietnam's vocational training network is witnessing a change for the better in quality, thus creating a breakthrough in vocational training and improving the quality of its human resources to meet the requirements of the country's development and the participation in the regional labour market.

The vocational training network each year trains between 1.2 million and 1.5 million workers. The number of skilled workers, however, is still low.

Therefore, each college, school and centre within the network should receive further investment to upgrade its facilities and teaching staff to reach such a standard that Vietnamese workers could meet the requirement of the regional labour market, at least.

At the same time, training work in the colleges, schools and centres should follow the needs of enterprises and the society.

The Government, with its guidance, is focusing its attention to vocational training to increase the number of well-trained workers, thus making a good preparation for the country's quality labour force to meet requirements of its economic development as a whole and foreign investors, who have been eyeing Vietnam as a destination for their business.

Vietnam is targeting a programme on sustainable employment in a context of high economic growth and international integration. The development of a national strategy with the aims of creating sustainable jobs, generating high incomes, cutting the unemployment rate in urban areas to 5% and increasing working time in rural areas, thus creating a harmony between economic development targets and an effective settlement of social issues.

At the first Vietnam employment forum in Hanoi, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem highlighted the challenges that Vietnam needed to overcome in order to improve Vietnam's national employment programme.

In 2007 alone and over the last few years as a whole, Vietnam has seen a success in employment with 1.6 million new jobs created each year and a 5% unemployment cut to maintain the country's socio-economic stability.

In 2007, Vietnam saw a success in its labour export strategy. A target of sending 80,000 guest workers abroad set by the National Assembly was achieved.

Guest workers send home around US $1.6 billion, which play an important role in improving their families' living standards, and help develop production, businesses and services.

In the same year, the Law on Sending Guest Workers was issued and took effect on July 1, 2007, which compliments the target of sending 85,000 guest workers in 2008.

Apart from traditional markets, including the Republic of Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Taiwan, Vietnam is targeting new markets, such as Australia, Brunei, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia and Macao.

At the same time, the quality of labour has been improved, especially in foreign language skills and disciplines.

With these improvements, Vietnam hopes to expand its labour export markets, thus helping create more jobs and cut unemployment.

Tran Dinh Chinh