The PM made the request following a report on the country’s economic growth in the past three quarters of the year presented by Minister of Finance Ngo Van Tuan at the Government’s regular September meeting on October 3.

Tuan reported that Vietnam’s GDP was estimated to have grown 9.95% year on year in the third quarter, bringing growth in the first nine months to 9.01%. The result puts the economy on a stronger growth trajectory, but also leaves a demanding task for the final quarter as the Government is targeting annual GDP growth of at least 10%.

With only three months remaining, maintaining the current momentum and generating additional growth will require stronger contributions from production, investment, consumption, exports and other key drivers.

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung described the fourth quarter as a decisive period requiring ministries, sectors and localities to assess the situation accurately, identify untapped growth potential and remove bottlenecks.

The focus should be on specific and feasible measures capable of generating stronger momentum in the final quarter, particularly in production, investment, consumption, exports, public investment disbursement and the attraction of private and foreign investment.

Localities that serve as growth poles and economic hubs need to play a role commensurate with their potential, scale, resources and special mechanisms, the PM said.

Each ministry and locality should identify where additional growth can be generated during the final three months of the year, as well as the resources and measures needed to achieve it. Priority should be given to measures that can be implemented immediately, including accelerating production and investment, stimulating domestic consumption, expanding exports, speeding up public investment disbursement, attracting private and foreign investment, and resolving long-standing problems in major projects.

Clear tasks and accountability for the final quarter

The Prime Minister also asked ministries, sectors and localities to review the implementation of policies and directives from the Party Central Committee, the Politburo, the National Assembly, the Government and the Prime Minister, identifying shortcomings and their causes.

The review should go beyond assessing results to examine how leadership, direction and implementation methods have worked over the past nine months, what new approaches have produced results and what lessons need to be drawn for the final quarter.

For the main growth drivers in the fourth quarter, particular attention should be given to industrial production, construction and exports.

The Government will also examine which major projects can be accelerated, which works can be completed and put into operation earlier, which export markets have room for expansion and what measures can stimulate domestic purchasing power.

At the same time, measures to maintain macroeconomic stability, control inflation and ensure major economic balances must continue alongside efforts to boost growth.

Implementation and accountability were also highlighted as key requirements. From now until the end of the year, each ministry, sector and locality should identify the important tasks to be completed in each month, together with clear expected outputs and the agencies, collectives and individuals responsible for directing and carrying them out.

“We must be determined to successfully achieve the targets and tasks for 2026, creating the conditions for 2027 to be a breakthrough year and for the successful implementation of the targets and tasks of the entire term,” Prime Minister Le Minh Hung stressed.

Hanoi, HCM City focus on growth drivers

At the meeting, Hanoi reported that its economic growth in the first nine months of the year was approaching 10%, with investment and construction emerging as increasingly important growth drivers.

Vu Dai Thang, chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, said the city has proactively added VND80 trillion to its public investment plan and accelerated major projects involving ring roads, bridges and urban railways.

The city has also focused on site clearance, cutting project costs and identifying new sources of construction materials for key projects.

In the final quarter, Hanoi plans to further tap its growth potential in areas including consumer demand, manufacturing and processing and digital transformation, while boosting production and keeping prices under control.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Loc Ha, vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, highlighted foreign direct investment as an important source of growth, with the city continuing to attract substantial FDI inflows.

The city is accelerating public investment disbursement for major regional connectivity projects, urban railway lines, a free trade zone, public-private partnership projects, inter-provincial metro development and AI applications.

For the fourth quarter, HCM City will focus on State budget revenue, public investment disbursement, capital mobilisation, consumer stimulus, trade and tourism, with a target of achieving growth of more than 13% in the final quarter and more than 10% for the full year.

The meeting reviewed the country’s socio-economic performance in September and the third quarter, public investment allocation and disbursement, implementation of national target programmes, and the Government’s direction and administration. It also identified priority tasks for the remaining months of 2026.

The year is considered a pivotal period for implementing the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress and the strategic resolutions of the Party Central Committee and Politburo.