CO-ORGANIZER

Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, and Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM)

Supported by

Bangkok Research Center (BRC), JETRO

The Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) organized the Intensive Workshop for Vietnamese government officials on November 21-25, 2011 at Phuket, Thailand. The workshop was co-organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, and Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), supported by the Bangkok Research Center (BRC), JETRO. 22 Vietnamese officials attended the workshop. The officials were from various ministries and governmental institutions, namely: Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labor, CIEM, Vietnam Institute for Trade, Institute for Industry Policy and Strategy, State Bank of Vietnam.

The intensive workshop aimed at raising the awareness of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) among the ASEAN countries, to share ideas to deepen and broaden economic integration and to narrow the development gaps in the ASEAN countries to meet the goals set by AEC for 2015. In terms of objectives, this workshop was similar to the CLMV seminars held earlier in Naypyitaw, Myanmar in September, and in Vientiane, Laos and Phnom Penh, Cambodia in October, 2011. The workshop was a five day program consisting of lecture sessions for three days, a one day study tour, and a one day session of presentation by the participants. Although the venue of the workshop was abruptly changed from Bangkok to Phuket, due to the current flood situation in Bangkok, it was conducted successfully. The workshop included a study tour to Prince of Songkla University, focusing on local business and tourism industry.
The workshop started with opening remarks of Prof. Yasuhiro Yamada, President of BRC. Five distinguished lecturers, namely, Dr. Hank Lim, Senior Research Fellow, Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA); Prof. Shinichi Watanabe, International University of Japan, Prof. Mitsuhiro Kagami, Faculty of Economics, Teikyo University, Japan, Ms. Mai Fujita, Institute of Developing Economies, JETRO, Prof. Keiichi Ogawa, Kobe University, Japan conducted the sessions at the workshop:

The themes of the lectures were as follows:
1. Issues for Economic Integration and its Prospect
2. Macro Economic Stability
3. Japanese Development Measures for SME Industrialization
4. Global Value Chain and Industrial Upgrading
5. Human Resource Development

During the workshop, the participants discussed the issues and prospects of the Vietnam's economic integration with the other ASEAN countries through examination and analysis of policy applications in the areas of the Foreign Trade Agreement and Foreign Direct Investment. The participants also exchanged ideas on Vietnamese macroeconomic management internally and on external shocks when its economy is deepening its integration in the region. Supporting policies for further improving Vietnamese SME development in comparison to the Japanese development model, global value chains and industrial uploading in the case of motor cycle industry, education reform to upgrade human resources development were some of the issues that were addressed in the capacity building workshop.

The workshop was concluded by Dr. Hank Lim, Chairperson, ERIA Academic Advisory Council. He expressed his expectation that ASEAN would be able to achieve a single market and production base and narrow the development gaps among ASEAN member countries by implementing free movement of goods, services, capital and investment flow as embodied in the AEC blueprint through domestic reforms and capacity building.

Press Release_ERIA Organizes Intensive Workshop for Vietnamese Government Officials.pdf