Vietnam Spark Board meets to support Vietnam in COVID-19 fight, post-pandemic recovery
Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States Ha Kim Ngoc has highly appreciated and expressed his hope that the Vietnam Spark Plan would help set forth breakthrough initiatives for Vietnam to overcome challenges and maintain strong development momentum.
He made the statement at the first meeting of Vietnam Spark Board on September 2.
The Vietnam Spark Plan was launched by the Boston Global Forum aimed to bring together leaders, strategists, academics, experts in health, technology, and economics to discuss and propose solutions to help Vietnam in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, recover and develop the economy as well as seeking new opportunities for the country when the pandemic ends.
Participants at the meeting were former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, Chairman of the Boston Global Forum, former Acting US Secretary of Commerce Cameron Kerry, Co-Chair of the United Nations Centennial Initiative, Professor Thomas E. Patterson from Harvard University and many other professors and strategists from Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The Vietnamese Ambassador said that this event has special meaning as it took place at the proposal of a prestigious organisation in Boston, where President Ho Chi Minh lived and worked in the days when he was searching for a way to save the country.
He emphasised that President Ho Chi Minh had foreseen the future of the Vietnam - US relations and they are following that vision.
The recent successful visit to Vietnam by US Vice President Kamala Harris is a new step in the relationship between the two countries, he said.
The pandemic situation in Vietnam is complicated, causing seriously economic and social impacts, the ambassador said, adding that the Vietnamese government has been taking many measures to fight the pandemic and seek vaccine sources at the earliest time, Ngoc said.
Addressing the meeting, former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis expressed his interest and desire to help improve the pandemic situation in Vietnam, saying that the anti-pandemic effort and economic development are interrelated and are of great significance in helping the country overcome the COVID-19.
Professor John Quelch - former Vice President of Harvard Business School and Dean of the University of Miami Business School - said that Vietnam should coordinate with member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to build a regional health strategy for vaccine autonomy, care for small businesses and pay attention to people's mental health.
Other participants also contributed many ideas on developing health and information infrastructure, remote psychological counseling and enhancing the role of women.
Nguyen Anh Tuan, former Editor of VietNamNet Newspaper and Director of the Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation, said after the first meeting, the Vietnam Spark Plan would continue to have discussions and was expected to submit a report of the plan to Vietnam by the end of this November.