Vietnam's social and economic development remained stable in the first five months of this year, although there were some difficulties, said Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Tuesday's Vietnam News reported.

    The national gross domestic product (GDP) would possibly reach seven percent this year as export continued to grow and foreign investment increased strongly, said the Prime Minister.

    However, the Prime Minister said solutions were still needed for some shortcomings of the economy, referring to the food price hike, trade deficit and fluctuations of gold and foreign currency.

    He told ministries, sectors and localities to take the initiative in putting forward solutions that would not only help control inflation, but increase production.