Obama foreign policy successes

Le Tri Thanh, Quang Nam chairman, said Sunday that the central province has sent a draft plan to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on welcoming international tourists.

If approved, Quang Nam will become the first province in the country to accept visitors with the so-called Covid-19 vaccine passports.

The plan will have visitors entering Vietnam on tours organized by international travel agencies. Each visitor should have a vaccine passport (documented proof of vaccination) and a certificate from medical agencies showing negative Covid-19 test results.

“We plan to welcome South Korean visitors in the first phase. We will learn from the experience, and in the second phase, we can open to more markets,” Thanh said.

The group of tourists will go on a charter flight to the Chu Lai Airport and be taken straight to resorts in Duy Xuyen District or Nui Thanh District for 5-10 days, not to quarantine facilities.

Chu Lai is slated to become an international airport and be eligible to add necessary equipment to receive charter flights.

Nguyen Thanh Hong, Director of the Quang Nam Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the two resorts were isolated and quite far from residential areas. The staff at these two resorts will be Covid-19 vaccinated and would follow and apply all pandemic prevention measures, he/she said.

Nguyen Van, deputy director of the provincial health department, said the plan to welcome international visitors has been carefully prepared.

“Throughout the transportation process, the visitors will be required to stay in the car with no stops on the way. The pandemic prevention measures at the accommodations will be applied just like a quarantine center.”

On April 15, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung had said that the ministry plans to reopen international tourism under a roadmap in which the pilot phase from July 2021 to September 2021 will focus on beach tourism and golf tourism in Quang Nam for visitors from the South Korean market.

The ministry’s studies have found that the south of Hoi An area and Chu Lai Airport in Quang Nam Province meet the requirements of safety, transport infrastructure and tourism services as an area for the pilot phase.

The ministry has said that in order to forward the proposal to the prime minister, the Quang Nam administration must review facilities, equipment, human resources and safety requirements; and prepare an official document confirming the province’s readiness to coordinate with the ministry in implementing the plan.

Due to the closure of the borders as a pandemic safety measure, the number of international visitors to Vietnam was just 3.7 million in 2020, down 80 over 2019.

Vietnam stopped all international commercial flights in March 2020. International visitors coming into the country since are mainly experts, high-tech workers, investors and foreigners working on projects in Vietnam.

“We are researching and preparing step by step the pilot selection of a number of markets to apply vaccine passports, welcoming visitors while ensuring safety amid the pandemic,” Hung said.

He also said that his ministry wants the government to apply the vaccine passport policy soon, because it would be key to opening the door for international visitors.

To better understand this concept, VietNamNet talks with Dr. Nguyen Van Dang, an expert on public Administration and policy from the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

Dr. Nguyen Van Dang. Photo: Pham Hai

The media is familiar with the concepts of corporate governance, urban governance, global governance. Is this the first time the documents of the Party Congress have used the “national governance” concept?

It is true that this is probably the first time the Party documents have mentioned the concept of “governance”. More specifically, in the Political Report of the 12th Party Central Committee presented at the 13th Party Congress, in the section “The key tasks and strategic breakthroughs of the 13th term”, the Party advocated: “Changing national governance in the direction of modernity and efficiency”.

This concept is also used with the same connotations in the “Lessons from experience” section of the 2016-2020 socio-economic report; Resolution of the 13th Party Congress; Socio-economic development strategy for the period 2021-2030. Thus, the concept of “national governance” has been used four times in the documents.

When did the concept of “governance” appear and what does it mean?

The concept of “governance” originated in the ancient Greek as “kubernan”, meaning control/guide. Later, Plato used the word with the connotation of “designing a ruling system”. In the Middle Ages the word “gubernare” appeared in Latin, which also implied to guide/control or rule through law. Until the 1970s, “governance” was still commonly used in the same meaning as “government”.

In the early 1980s, the concept of “governance” became more common and used with a broader meaning.

Government not only refers to the activities of the state, but also extends to non-state subjects. This diverse network of actors gradually reduces the notion of boundaries between units in government, between public – private sector, or domestic – international.

So far, there still exist different interpretations of the concept of “governance” among the sciences. In terms of solving common problems of the community, “governance” or “public governance” is generally understood as the establishment, application, and enforcement of “rules of the game”.

More specifically, it is a set of principles for collective decision-making in multidisciplinary contexts, and there is no formal system of control between them that governs the terms of the relationship between the subjects participating in the governance system.

The difference between “state management” and “national governance ”

What are the key features of national governance?

The first is the multi-subject feature. The governance system will include not only the government, laws, principles and administrative regulations and state agencies, but also private subjects and non-profit organizations, as well as the more active role of every citizen.

Therefore, the public interest is no longer the only basis for governance decisions. In the framework of a multi-subject relationship, the interests of different subjects must be respected. Consequently, policies or management decisions tend to be dominated by diverse interests, not just public interests.

Second, reduce the gap and narrow the public-private boundary. The governance system integrates administrative systems with market and non-profit mechanisms, thereby narrowing and blurring the boundaries between the state and society.

Third, the cooperation between partners will gradually replace the imposed relationship in order as in the traditional government model. Due to the participation of diverse subjects in governance relationships, the form of those relationships will gradually change to a horizontal relationship, which is more collaborative, cooperative, and equal.

Fourth, governance is interconnected – governance models and paradigms that include institutions and people at all levels of government as well as different policy areas, and are not limited by the local territory border.

So, what is the most fundamental difference between “state management” and “governance”?

Management, whether at the organizational, local or national level, always has a subject that controls relationships and decision-making (government, board of directors, administrators…). However, when it comes to governance, such a central subject does not exist.

The 13th National Party Congress. Photo: Pham Hai

Therefore, the most fundamental difference among management systems is that there will not be a single subject that can fully control the collective decision-making process in multi-subject governance relationships.

Good sign

How will the role of the government be in the national governance system?

Governance systems require the government to gradually adapt to its role of coordinating the differences in expectations and interests of subjects of governance. It also means that the government cannot easily impose its will on related parties as in a traditional governance model.

How do you evaluate the emergence of the concept of “national governance” in the documents of the 13th Party Congress?

First of all, I think it is a good sign because it shows the change in the Party’s perception. However, the limited use of this concept also proves a certain caution of the Party towards this new concept.

In your opinion, why is there such caution?

In my opinion, “governance” is a concept of Western origin so it reflects tradition and reality in Western societies. This concept, thus, will still be very strange to many Vietnamese people.

In addition, the tradition and reality of the political – administrative system in Vietnam and many East Asian countries in general are also very different from the West. Therefore, we cannot rush to use arbitrarily foreign concepts.

Building a national governance model

What is your opinion about the future of “governance thinking” in Vietnam?

We live in a rapidly changing and interdependent world. Therefore, since the late 1990s, management thinking has been an increasingly popular trend in the world.

At home, reforming the political – administrative system towards respecting and promoting the people’s mastery has been a consistent policy of the Party in many recent congresses.

The reality also shows the limitations of the state’s ability and resources in solving community problems. Therefore, we are witnessing the increasingly active participation of businesses, social organizations and individual citizens, working side by side with the government to solve collective problems.

What are the challenges in the process of building “national governance” in Vietnam?

“Governance” is an exotic concept so the first challenge is that we must define this concept associated with the actual context in Vietnam today. This has not been shown in the documents of the 13th Party Congress.

On that foundation, the next step is to build a national governance theory and model, which can catch the world’s movement trends and reconcile with the traditional and current characteristics of Vietnam.

I think that this is a theoretical challenge that the Party should be concerned about in coming years.

Hien Anh

No Va Land Investment Group’s head office in Nguyễn Du Street, District 1, Hồ Chí Minh City. Photo vinhomecitys.com

HÀ NỘI — The market ended lower last week as many large-cap stocks faced selling pressure after the VN-Index hit a new high of over 1,255 points. Some analysts from securities firms expected that the market’s bullish trend will continue this week, while others were more cautious and see a downward trend dominating the market.

The market benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) fell 8.54 points, or 0.68 per cent, in Friday’s trade to 1,238.71 points. The index hit a record high of 1,255.87 points on Wednesday.

For the week, the index still rose slightly by 0.57 per cent, while foreign investors net sold a value of over VNĐ2.4 trillion.

Analyst from Saigon – Hanoi Securities JSC (SHS) said that the third straight weekly gain of the market and a new record in liquidity showed investors’ big interest during this period. However, based on Elliott Wave Theory, the index was likely at the end of wave 5 last week and is about to turn to corrective waves with a closest target being around 1,135 points.

Therefore, a downward trend might influence the market this week, SHS added.

The index struggled and strongly fluctuated around 1,250 points, but failed to break through the level in the last session. The market breadth, besides some blue-chip stocks in real estate sectors and steel stocks, was negative last week.

Trần Xuân Bách, a senior stock analyst from Bảo Việt Securities Company, also expected that the market might continue to be weighed by selling pressure this week.

“The VN-Index still receives support from the zone of 1,225 – 1,232 points in some early sessions this week,” Bách wrote in a daily report to customers.

“The market is likely to be influenced by some large-cap stocks, as well as a strong division of stock groups during this period.”

Meanwhile, analysts from Viet Dragon Securities Corporation (VDSC) were more optimistic about the market as large cash inflows into the market in the last session limited the losses.

Sharing the positive view, MB Securities JSC (MBS) said that the last session’s steep fall has boosted cash flows into the market for bottom fishing, creating a notable recovery.

On the technical front, the upward trend, which has extended over the last two months, will continue with the support territory in the short-term being 1,220 points, MBS added.

The HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) also declined 1.02 per cent on Friday to 293.11 points. For the week, the index fell 0.23 per cent.

Real estate stocks posted outstanding performance last week as it went against the market’s trend in most sessions. Followed by material stocks.

Of which, Vingroup JSC (VIC), No Va Land Investment Group Corporation (NVL) and Hoà Phát Group (HPG) contributed the most to help the market cap losses. These stocks climbed 16.29 per cent, 4.73 per cent and 4.46 per cent, respectively.

On the contrary, top three stocks influencing the market’s trend were Vietnam Rubber Group JSC (GVR), JSC Bank For Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID) and Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (VNM).

In general, Việt Nam’s stock market was not so positive last week despite the benchmark increasing slightly as selling pressure spread to all sectors and foreign investors net sold a value in the trillions of đồng . — VNS