UPDATE - Vietnam’s lawmakers elect new president, premier

UPDATES WITH ELECTION OF PRIME MINISTER; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK

By Pizaro Gozali Idrus

JAKARTA (AA) - Nguyen Xuan Phuc was sworn in as the new president of Vietnam on Monday, after previously serving as prime minister for five years, local media reported.

He was elected in secret voting at the National Assembly, according to the Vietnam Government Portal.

“The new State President pledged to do his utmost to successfully fulfill the tasks assigned to him by the Party, State and people,” the portal said.

In 2016, Phuc, 67, was elected as prime minister for a five-year term.

Under his leadership as the prime minister, the country's GDP increased by 1.4 times compared to that in 2015, the portal said.

In terms of global competitiveness index, Vietnam climbed up 10 places to 67th out of 141 countries, according to the World Economic Forum.

Meanwhile, Pham Minh Chinh, the head of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s Organization Commission, has been sworn in as the country’s new prime minister minutes after he was elected for the office by lawmakers through secret ballots.

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony, Chinh, pledged to stay loyal to the country, the people and the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and to try his best to fulfill the duties assigned to him by the party, state and people.

*Writing by Rhany Chairunissa Rufinaldo with Anadolu Agency's Indonesian language services in Jakarta