Conference spotlights int’l economic cooperation

Dr. Mizobata Satoshi, Director of the Economic Research Institute under Japan’s Kyoto University, made the affirmation at a conference in Hanoi from Sept. 3-4, which reviewed relations between Vietnam and Japan over the past four decades and worked out future orientations. 

Participants focused their discussions on international economic cooperation and other economic issues in the new world and regional context. 

Vietnam should pay attention to both short-term results and long-term road map during its transition to a market economy, Satoshi said. 

It should attach importance to not only globalisation standards but also traditional values, he said, adding that necessary elements for Vietnam’s economic growth are now resources, money, technology, skills and trust. 

Vietnam’s economy has seen important changes since it launched the Doi Moi (Renewal) process in 1986. From a poor country, it has become a medium-income one. The number of poor households has also been reduced remarkably while the country’s economic structure has also been shifted gradually to industry. 

However, the country is meeting many challenges in its socio-economic development.

According to professor Tran Van Tho from Waseda University, Vietnam has not succeeded in taking advantages of assistance and direct investment from foreign countries to accelerate its industrialisation process. 

Tho said this is due to a weakness of the country’s internal resources. Therefore, Vietnam needs to consolidate and intensify its inner strength, while gradually reducing its reliance on foreign assistance in the next 15-20 years. 

The country should encourage the establishment of joint ventures between foreign firms and domestic enterprise in order to facilitate foreign enterprises’ activities in the Vietnamese market, while learning from experience of other Asian countries to further accelerate its industrialisation and improve its competitiveness.