Accelerate Vietnam’s development with productivity momentum

Post date: Wednesday, Dec 13, 2023 | 0:46 - View count: 329

On the afternoon of December 12, the 2023 National Productivity Forum plenary session took place with the theme “Accelerating Vietnam’s Development with the Productivity Drive”.

Attending the Plenary Session are high rankings goverment officials from ministries and offices of Vietnam, including Minister of Ministry of Science and Technology, Mr. Huynh Thanh Dat and Deputy Minister Mr. Le Xuan Dinh; Associate Professor. Dr. Nguyen Van Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Central Council of Theoretical Studies. On the part of international agencies and organizations, the Plenary Session honored by the presence of Dr. Indra Pradana Singawinata, Secretary General of the Asian Productivity Organization (APO), Ms. Ingrid Christensen, Director of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Vietnam; Mr. Andrea Coppola, Chief Economist and Head of EFI Department, World Bank (WB) in Vietnam; Representatives of the Swiss Embassy, Indonesia Embassy, Laos Embassy, Royal Thai Embassy in Vietnam and international organizations in Vietnam; On the part of the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality (STAMEQ) are Acting Director of STAMEQ, Dr. Ha Minh Hiep and representatives of units/agencies under the Directorate; Attending the Plenary Session were also representatives of central and local departments, ministries, branches, and businesses in Vietnam.

Speaking at the opening plenary session, Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Mr. Huynh Thanh Dat said that after 35 years of innovation, Vietnam has become a middle-income country and is accelerating the process of industrialization and modernization. The 10-year Socio-Economic Development Strategy 2021-2030 sets the goal of increasing average social labor productivity to over 6.5%/year. In addition, Vietnam also determined its perspective on innovating the growth model in the direction of “Gradually shifting from relying on increasing the quantity of input factors of production to relying on increasing productivity and labor quality using application of science, technology and innovation”. These are important and very challenging directions for a developing country like Vietnam.

Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology Mr. Huynh Thanh Dat delivered the opening speech at the plenary session.

Also according to Minister Huynh Thanh Dat, the 2023 National Productivity Forum with the theme “Accelerating Vietnam’s development with the Productivity drive” aims to promote the implementation of the Government’s plan to improve national productivity and to discuss and share experiences on productivity improvement solutions that are suitable for domestic and international contexts.

This year’s National Productivity Forum has the participation of policymakers, productivity experts, domestic and international organizations, individuals and businesses. The Ministry of Science and Technology believes that this is a good opportunity to exchange and discuss solutions and policies to improve productivity and labor quality. At the same time, this forum will also connect, seek opportunities for cooperation and promote the transfer of international knowledge in the field of productivity to Vietnam.

Speaking in the Plenary Session, Secretary General of the Asian Productivity Organization (APO), Dr. Indra Pradana Singawinata said that currently, Vietnam is facing many challenges such as the lack of human resources, management capacity… According to Dr. Indra, Vietnam needs to have policies to develop human resources, creating a favorable environment not only for domestic enterprises but also foreign enterprises to develop.

In addition, it is necessary to increase investment in research and development (R&D), strengthen links between research agencies and businesses, support research and innovation activities. Furthermore, the unification of training programs, ensuring access to quality and equitable human resources, and enhancing transparency is also considered essential.

Secretary General of the APO, Dr. Indra Pradana Singawinata at the plenary session.
Dr. Nguyen Van Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Central Council of Theoretical Studies.

At the Plenary Session, Associate Professor. Dr. Vu Minh Khuong also gave a presentation with the topic “Fostering International Competitiveness and Productivity Growth: Strategic Frameworks and Policy Recommendations for Vietnam”.

According to Associate Professor. Dr. Vu Minh Khuong, recently, Vietnam has made significant progress in promoting the increase of labor productivity. However, the rate of productivity growth is still slow and not commensurate with Vietnam’s potential. Without a significant acceleration in productivity growth, it will be difficult for Vietnam to achieve high-income status by 2045.

Referring to the strategic framework to promote Vietnam’s productivity growth, Associate Professor. Dr. Vu Minh Khuong proposed a 5E model in strategic planning and implementation including: Emotion (E01), Enlightenment (E02), Engagement (E03), Engineering (E04), Evolution (E05). Increasing productivity needs to focus on increasing TFP (total factor productivity), developing human resources and increasing capital. He also introduced the SMART model for action including: Strategy (S), Momentum Building (M), Accountability (A), Reflecting (Reviewing and Learning) (R) and Trust deepening (T).

Associate Professor. Dr. Vu Minh Khuong also gave 5 policy recommendations for Vietnam: First, promote productivity mindset. Second, develop a strong national productivity strategy through comprehensive, nationwide approaches. Third, establish specialized organizations responsible for building, coordinating, encouraging and monitoring nationwide initiatives to promote productivity growth at all levels.

Fourth, launch a national productivity effort to attract and mobilize nationwide efforts to increase productivity at all levels. Fifth, create motivation and encourage strategic and breakthroughs to increase productivity.

The plenary session attracted a large number of delegates.

Within the framework of the Plenary Session, experts delivered presentations with the topic: Promoting Productivity and Innovation for Long-term and Sustainable Economic Growth – Journey of Singapore by Dr. Victor Tay – CEO of Global Catalyst Advisory, RHT Consulting Asia – APO expert; Presentation on productivity growth – the foundation for high-income Vietnam by 2045 by Dr. Andrea Coppola – Lead Economist and EFI Program Leader, World Bank (WB) in Vietnam; Presentation on the need for new productivity drivers in Vietnam by Ms. Gulimira Asanbaeva – Program Manager of Productivity Ecosystems for Decent Work, International Labor Organization (ILO). Also at the plenary session, the panel discussion on solutions to accelerate Vietnam’s development with productivity drivers took place, recording many opinions from experts, businesses, and representatives of ministries and branches.