Diplomatic leadership style

Vietnam is currently going through a growth spurt while entering an era with more modern and people-centred considerations rising in prevalence. What role does “soft power” play in GDP growth as well as regional and global success?

Vu Ba Phu, director general of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade

Vietnam’s soft power stems from not only the promotion of its own values such as the heroic history, rich culture and traditions, and pacifist foreign policy but also the development and optimisation of a range of new positions and advantages.

Amid the difficulties of 2020, the successful dispensing of its dual role as both ASEAN chair and non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council is testament to the successful application of soft power in Vietnam’s foreign policy. In 2020, the world lauded Vietnam’s rapid response and contributions to regional and international affairs thanks to its ability to grasp opportunities, taking the initiative in coping with dynamic situations and ensuring economic recovery while promoting multilateralism and international solidarity to get through the COVID-19 crisis.

Vietnam not only dived deeper into the global economy and made increasing contributions to shaping the ground rules of international organisations, it also prepared for further comprehensive integration. Possibly the greatest achievements were extending Vietnam’s diplomatic relations to 187 out of 193 member states of the United Nations while completing negotiating and signing new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs), making the country an integral factor in all regional and intra-regional economic links.

With these steps, Vietnam is now one of the most open economies in the world, with the ratio of foreign trade to GDP increasing from 136 per cent in 2010 to approximately 200 per cent in 2019. Amid COVID-19 shutdowns in early 2020, Vietnam was among the very few countries to achieve positive GDP growth of nearly 3 per cent.

Vietnam’s soft power is a combination of many factors and has made significant contributions to increasing its prestige and position in the regional and international arena.

Branding is a strong tool for advocacy among global stakeholders. How is Vietnam globalising its homegrown brands?

In today’s continuously evolving economy, the greater a brand’s recognition in the international market, the more strength it provides to its country. Notably, branding will play a crucial role as Vietnam steps up participation in more and more new-generation FTAs.

Recognising this, the Vietnam Value Programme, launched in 2003, is the government’s unique and long-term trade promotion programme aiming to build Vietnam’s image as a country of high-quality products and services, to increase the pride and attraction of the country and its people, and to boost foreign trade and national competitiveness.

As the programme management agency, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam (MoIT) has been actively supporting Vietnamese enterprises to improve their capacity through business development consultancy, establishing information systems, and updating branding knowledge. Promotion and public relations have also received a lot of attention to increase public and international awareness about the programme and Vietnam Value products through various channels.

The MoIT also builds and promotes geographical indications and collective trademarks from across the country in foreign markets, improving competitiveness of businesses based on a reputation for quality, environmentally-friendly production, and professionalism, thereby consolidating the position of Vietnamese brands globally.

Thanks to the support of the programme, many Vietnamese corporations and businesses have become aware of the importance of branding. Enterprises have gradually learned to promote their brands professionally, improving their competitiveness and reaffirming their position in the domestic and foreign markets.

Many outstanding Vietnamese brands have resonated with regional and international consumers and partners. For example, Viettel is in the globe’s top 15 in terms of mobile subscribers and the top 40 in terms of revenue. Meanwhile, Truong Hai Auto Corporation is gradually rising to the top position in the ASEAN region and state-owned Khanh Hoa Salanganes Nest One Member LLC has the largest swiftlet exploitation output. TH Group is the first Vietnamese company to successfully penetrate the Chinese market, the second-largest dairy consumption market in the world.

All these successes by individual brands have been continuously raising Vietnam’s national brand to a stronger global position.

How has COVID-19 impacted Vietnam’s international relations?

The far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have pushed many countries into a health and economic crisis. Despite the unprecedented challenges, Vietnam has been one of the world’s success stories in getting the outbreak under control, maintaining socioeconomic stability, and promoting bilateral and multilateral diplomatic activities. The initial great successes in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic were due to the successful combination of the nation’s strength, in which soft power played a significant role.

Vietnam has proactively deployed its diplomatic strategy to orchestrate COVID-19 response, committed and stood ready to share information, and donated medical supplies to countries in need. The message of leaving no-one behind is one of the most vivid demonstrations of Vietnam’s wielding of soft power, proving the Vietnamese spirit of solidarity. That humanitarian spirit is also reflected in the help provided to overseas Vietnamese to return or the messages foreigners have posted about how fortunate they feel to be staying in the country during the outbreak.

Its effective anti-pandemic policies, along with the responsibility and dignity Vietnam has shown on the international stage, have been highly appreciated by international friends.

How will this successful use of soft power be turned into economic gains?

With the efforts of the government and the collaboration of the Vietnamese people to prevent and control the pandemic, Vietnam is now well-known as a safe country. This renown makes it easy for Vietnam to draw international investment, events, and tourists, which bring great opportunities for economic development.

Not only that, Vietnam has succeeded in turning the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis into advantages to enhance the image of Vietnamese products and national brands. Vietnam has defied the global trend with its brand value skyrocketing 29 per cent on-year, from $247 billion to $319 billion, ranking 33rd among the world’s top 100 national brands, and being the fastest-growing national brand in 2020.

Soft power is an extremely valuable asset for Vietnam to turn challenges into opportunities. In the midst of difficulties, Vietnam’s use of soft power was not weakened but became stronger than ever. Thanks to strong social consensus, national solidarity, and unity, Vietnam has gained impressive achievements which effectively improved its image in the international arena.

What are Vietnam’s goals for the next decade in terms of building up its soft power capabilities?

Vietnam aspires to achieve comprehensive innovation and extensive international integration, to become a country with modern industries and high average income by 2030, then a developed country with high income by 2045. To reach higher international stature, soft power will play an even more cardinal role, requiring efforts from the entire political system, each enterprise, and each Vietnamese citizen.

Firstly, Vietnam needs to create a systematic and long-term plan to promote soft power. It is also necessary to improve growth quality and labour productivity, and to promote creative industries, thereby improving the competitiveness of the economy as a whole.

At the same time, it is necessary to continue to preserve and promote the diverse and rich values of Vietnamese culture. Concurrently, studies and assessments by experts drawing comments from the community will also pave the way to pick out the unique, remarkable cultural elements for focused investment and development, thereby making great contributions to Vietnam’s socioeconomic development.

Vietnam should also increase its use of soft power in diplomacy. Globalisation is creating ever more complex interdependencies and in this environment, regional and global diplomacy should concentrate on leadership and mediation through softer means.

It will also be necessary to prioritise and focus investment on scientific and technological development to ensure Vietnam’s competitiveness. The creation of high-quality and highly competitive products requires proper appreciation of ICT in building national soft power as well as applying new and innovative technologies in production.

In addition to building and promoting soft power, Vietnam also needs to strengthen its hard power to create synergies, creating “smart power” in the new era to enhance integration and enhance its global strategic and economic position.

Major General Nguyen Anh Tuan, Political Chief of the Border Guard Command; Major General Trinh Hoang Hiep, Director of the Border Guard Academy; Senior Colonel Nguyen Thai Sinh, Political Commissar of the academy; and other high-ranking officers attended the event.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Senior Colonel Sinh said that the academy has set a goal to plant 10,000 green trees in 2021.

The program is a meaningful activity in response  to the tree-planting festival across the country and the government’s program of planting one billion trees, as well as to build a green, clean, and attractive school.

In addition, General Sinh also asked the academy to promote information dissemination among its teachers and cadets about the importance of tree-planting and encourage them to plant more trees to beautify their barracks.

Addressing the ceremony, General Tuan said that over the past years, under the direction of the Border Guard Command, the Politics Department of the command instructed its agencies and units to work with the VietinBank branches across the countries to launch the tree-planting festival on the first days of  the lunar new year.

So far, the agencies and units have planted more than 90,000 trees.

Also, General Tuan acknowledged and hailed the efforts of the academy’s leadership and troops in fulfilling their assigned tasks in response to the tree-planting festival and the government’s program of planting one billion trees.

He added that the Political Department of the Border Guard Command and other departments will support VND 100 million for the academy in buying seedlings and tools to plant trees and care for newly-planted trees.

After the launching ceremony, over 300 officers, instructors , and cadets of the academy planted more than 300 new trees in the school.

Source: bienphong.com.vn

Translated by Quynh Oanh

The Hanoitimes – The program is designed exclusively for Vietnam amid a rise in Facebook users in the country.

The “Facebook for Vietnam” program that puts existing and newly created programs in Vietnam under one hashtag is a way that the world’s largest social media platform has launched to assist the digital transformation in the Southeast Asian country.

Daniel Kritenbrink, US Ambassador to Vietnam. Photo: Facebook Vietnam

In partnership with the US Mission to Vietnam partners, this program is part of activities to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Vietnam-US relations.

To be launched from May to December 2020, the campaign with the hashtag #fb4vn is a first-of-its-kind comprehensive program designed exclusively for Vietnam.

The program includes five pillars namely Innovation, Safety and Digital Literacy, Community, Cities, and Digital Economy.

#fb4Innovation covers start-up supporting initiatives, programmers, and innovation-driven campaigns.

#fb4Safety and Digital Literacy focuses on safety on social networks, including protective measures for women and children, prevention of child abuse, and digital skills equipped for youth.

#fb4Community includes initiatives to bring people together and use technology for good.

#fb4Cities supports localities in their efforts to build e-government and smart cities through coordinated programs in various fields.

#fb4Economy contributes to the business community, mostly small- and medium-sized enterprises, and promote tourism and education in Vietnam after Covid-19.

Number of Facebook users in Vietnam from 2017 to 2023. Source: Statista

“As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year, the “Facebook for Vietnam” campaign, which further expands Facebook’s socio-economic development projects throughout the country, demonstrates both Facebook’s and the United States’ long-term commitment to the prosperity of Vietnam,” said Daniel Kritenbrink, US ambassador to Vietnam.

Nguyen Anh Nguyet, Facebook’s Vietnam Public Policy Director, said Vietnam, with a digital economy that is growing at a remarkable pace, is an important market for Facebook.

With this campaign, Facebook wants to work more closely with the government, partners, non-profit organizations, and others to help Vietnam quickly recover from the global health crisis while creating opportunities for people to build digital literacy skills, helping businesses grow and creating jobs in the digital economy, she said.

In recent years, Facebook has collaborated with different partners in Vietnam to implement projects that help boost the nation’s socio-economic growth. Such projects include #SheMeansBusiness & “Facebook Community Boost” that provided training and consultation for more than 10,000 small and medium-sized enterprises, including 6,500 businesswomen. In 2019, the “We Think Digital” program offered digital skills training to 244,813 secondary schoolchildren and 1,277 teachers in 13 provinces and cities across Vietnam.

Vietnam is among top 10 countries having the largest Facebook using community, with 47.1 million users.

The Hanoitimes – In a difficult year amid the Covid-19 pandemic, exports remain a spotlight and lay a foundation for the economy to maintain its growth momentum coming into the next year.

While the Covid-19 pandemic continue to cause severe consequences on the economy as a whole and trade activities in particular, it could not stop Vietnam’s exports from attaining significant achievements.

Vice Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai.

Vice Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai shared the view at the Vietnam Export Promotion Forum 2020 held on December 16.

As of the end of November, Vietnam’s trade turnover reached US$489.1 billion during the period, up 3.5% year-on-year. Of the sum, exports rose by 5.3% year-on-year to US$254.6 billion, and imports of US$234.5 billion, up 1.5%, resulting in an all time high trade surplus of US$20.1 billion.

Vietnam had 31 export items earning more than US$1 billion each in the first eleven months of 2020, accounting for 92% of total exports, and six grossing over US$10 billion, or 64.3%. On the other hand, 34 items were  imported with US$1 billion, or 89.4% of total.

It is estimated that Vietnam’s export turnover could reach US$267 billion for 2020, representing an increase of 1% against the previous year, while imports are estimated at US$260 billion, up 2.6%. This would result in a trade surplus of US$7 billion for the year.

Overview of the forum.

“In a difficult year amid the Covid-19 pandemic, exports remain a spotlight and lay a foundation for the economy to maintain its growth momentum coming into the next year,” stated Mr. Hai.

“As the pandemic is set to persist for a longer period, solutions are needed for Vietnam to ensure efficient utilization of free trade deals, including the EVFTA, CPTPP or RCEP, as well as to promote the Vietnamese brands globally,” he continued.

Market expansion key for sustainable trade

Vu Ba Phu, head of the Trade Promotion Agency.

Vu Ba Phu, head of the Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), said the agency plans to provide support for local traders in brand building and promoting e-commerce and IT application.

“The idea is to help them enhance resilience against the Covid-19 pandemic,” Mr. Phu said.

For Vietnam to maintain export growth of 5-10% during the 2021-25 period, the MoIT expected trade promotion activities to focus on Vietnam’s key export products, including seafood, fruits, coffee, tea, cashew, rice, rubber, textile, footwear and wooden products, among others.

“In addition to priority markets such as China, the US, EU, India, Japan, ASEAN, South Korea, Vietnam would look to penetrate new markets such as the Middle East or Africa,” he added.

Swiss Ambassador to Vietnam Ivo Sieber.

Swiss Ambassador to Vietnam Ivo Sieber said market expansion holds significant role for Vietnam to further expand trade globally.

Mr. Sieber informed that the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, is negotiating a trade deal with Vietnam.

Once completed, the deal can take trade relations between the two parties to a new level, Mr. Sieber said, adding he hopes the deal can be concluded next year on the occasion of 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Switzerland.