Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong on Sunday, the first day of the Lunar New Year, appealed for all local people and overseas Vietnamese to boost socioeconomic development, saying that 2006 is of great importance to the country.

The president in a TV program on Sunday appealed the people to "put patriotism and the spirit of great unity and national pride into full play, conduct reform more strongly and comprehensively, promote patriotic movements, keep on practicing thrift, vigorously push back corruption and social evils, and strive to realize socioeconomic targets set for 2006."

In the annual Lunar New Year's greetings program, the president said some significant events will take place in 2006, including the 10th national congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the country's hosting of the 14th APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit. This year is also the "hinge" year of the national 10-year socioeconomic development strategy in the 2001- 2010.

In 2005, Vietnam posted high economic growth, the highest over the past five years, and stable development in all spheres despite frequent occurrence of natural disasters, reoccurrence of bird flu, and unexpected changes in the world, he said.

Vietnam's National Assembly has set major socioeconomic targets to be realized in 2006, including gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 8 percent; and growth rates of 3.8 percent in agriculture, 10.2 percent in industry, 8 percent in service and 16. 4 percent in export turnover.

The country recorded GDP growth of 8.4 percent, and export turnover of more than 32.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2005.

Source: Xinhua