Contribute to building the Vietnamese brand in ASEAN

(Baonghean) - On the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Founding of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (August 8, 1967 - August 8, 2017), Nghe An Newspaper interviewed Comrade Nguyen Xuan Duong - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee about the role and efforts of Nghe An in the current context of integration.

Provincial leaders and investors at the investment agreement signing ceremony of the WHA Hemaraj project. Photo by Tien Hung.

PV:Dear comrade, it can be said that since joining ASEAN, Vietnam has gradually risen to prove its importance and voice in the region. So for Nghe An in particular, what outstanding marks have there been in the past time on the path of cooperation and integration into ASEAN?

Comrade Nguyen Xuan Duong:First of all, it must be affirmed that although Vietnam is not a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, since officially becoming the 7th member of this multilateral organization on July 28, 1995, we have caught up very quickly and are now an important member with a voice in the common house of ASEAN.

Over the past two decades, Vietnam has been a bright spot in the 10-member bloc thanks to its stable socio-political situation, guaranteed security, young and dynamically developing economy. It is considered by many countries to be an essential factor to consider in building and implementing policies for the Southeast Asian region in particular and the Asia-Pacific region in general. It is considered an active and dynamic member of ASEAN.

In that spirit, over the past 10 years, Nghe An province has continuously focused on developing relations with partners who are members of ASEAN and expanded mechanisms such as ASEAN+3, ASEAN+6, etc. It is easy to see that our international cooperation circle is increasingly expanding, currently regularly attracting and maintaining cooperation in many fields such as economic development, trade, tourism development connection, human resource training, etc. with ASEAN member countries.

For example, many exchange, cooperation and bilateral support programs between Nghe An and neighboring provinces of Laos have been implemented and maintained regularly every year, thereby fostering the special friendship between Vietnam and Laos in general and Nghe An with the provinces of Xieng Khouang, Hua Phan, Bolikhamxay, etc. in particular.

In addition, the presence of the key project VSIP Industrial - Urban and Service Complex invested by Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park Joint Venture Company Limited in the Southeast Economic Zone is also a testament to the province's success in attracting investment in particular and in cooperation and integration into the regional and international economy in general. In addition, with Thailand, we have also achieved outstanding results in exchanges and cooperation such as attracting 5 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects into the province, especially the investment in infrastructure of WHA Hemaraj Industrial Park by Hemaraj Group of Thailand - a project that promises to create conditions to invite world businesses in general and Thai businesses in particular to invest in Nghe An. Not limiting itself to ASEAN, Nghe An has been and is an attractive destination for close ASEAN partners such as Japan and South Korea, and we have also begun to research and implement promotional activities and investment promotion to regional “neighbors” such as Australia, China, etc., promising to bring more positive results in the coming time.

PV:So, in order not to miss out and make full use of the golden opportunities when approaching the door of ASEAN integration, what is the factor that Nghe An is interested in and puts first in the province's development vision, sir?

Comrade Nguyen Xuan Duong:Since the end of 2015, the ASEAN Community has been officially established, based on three main pillars: the Political-Security Community, the Economic Community and the Socio-Cultural Community; and set out criteria for people-oriented and people-centered. On that basis, in the process of promoting regional integration according to the general direction of the Party and State, Nghe An has paid much attention to the human factor.

In recent times, we have made efforts to maintain a stable political and security situation, focus on economic development, restructure the economy towards modernity and sustainability, maintain and promote cultural and historical values, ensure social security, etc., all aimed at improving the quality of life for the people. Not only that, Nghe An also focuses and gives many priorities to developing high-quality human resources to meet current integration requirements.

For example, in recruiting cadres, civil servants and public employees, Nghe An has a mechanism to prioritize recruiting talented people, supplementing high-quality human resources for the State apparatus and administrative agencies, not only good at expertise but also fluent in foreign languages ​​to facilitate communication with partners inside and outside ASEAN when coming to work with the province.

In the field of vocational training, a number of vocational schools in the province have been approved to implement vocational training programs according to ASEAN and international standards, enhance foreign language and IT skills, and develop soft skills for those about to enter the labor market, so that they can confidently work in a high-pressure international environment... Each field has its own approach and implementation, but in general, they all aim to build ASEAN people, each person is a standard ASEAN citizen, confident when stepping out of the "village pond" to immerse themselves in the "big ocean".

Canning at Royal Foods factory in Nam Cam Industrial Park (Southeast Economic Zone). Photo: Lam Tung

PV:So, in the year of ASEAN's 50th founding anniversary and the following years, what additional propaganda plans has Nghe An had and will have to promote more strongly the image of the ASEAN Community, raising people's awareness of ASEAN in a truly profound and comprehensive way?

Comrade Nguyen Xuan Duong: On April 28, 2017, the Provincial People's Committee issued a Plan to propagate and celebrate the 50th anniversary of ASEAN's founding, as a basis for propagating and promoting ASEAN to the masses in a more systematic and scientific manner, thereby affirming the correctness of the foreign policy of our Party and State, contributing to the successful implementation of the Resolutions of the 12th Party Congress.

The main focus of this plan is to raise awareness of the opportunities ASEAN can bring to the people, businesses, etc. and the challenges that ASEAN member countries are working together to effectively respond to in today's era, contributing to enhancing the image of ASEAN, making people gradually feel the meaning of the Community, see the value and be proud to be citizens of the ASEAN Community.

More specifically, closely following the events of the year, the provincial leaders have directed and led departments, branches and sectors to promote widespread propaganda about the Summit, the Ministerial Conference, the Ceremony to honor ASEAN founders, the flag-raising ceremony and the ASEAN Gala Night, the Award Ceremony of ASEAN competitions; scientific seminars, thematic talks, forums, etc. During the peak week towards celebrating the 50th anniversary of ASEAN's founding, we have also actively promoted ASEAN through press publications, creating a bold "streak" and leaving an impression in the hearts of readers and audiences.

In the coming time, Nghe An will continue to maintain widespread propaganda activities about ASEAN, combining and integrating promotional content in conferences and seminars with ASEAN partners such as the 21st Preparatory Conference of provinces using Highway 8 and Highway 12 of the three countries of Vietnam - Laos - Thailand...

Along with that, the province will also focus on maintaining regular information on newspapers and radio about ASEAN, participating in conferences, seminars, fairs and exhibitions organized by ASEAN member countries to promote destinations, tourism potential, business and investment opportunities in Vietnam in general and Nghe An province in particular; actively supporting, guiding and coordinating with reporters and press groups of news agencies of ASEAN countries to record and film to promote the image of Nghe An; integrating and organizing cultural, artistic and sports exchanges between Nghe An and provinces of ASEAN member countries on the occasion of anniversaries and major events of Nghe An or of provinces and cities of ASEAN countries...

Through that, Nghe An hopes to contribute more solid bricks to strengthen the image of Vietnam as a positive, dynamic, fast-integrating, strong country with a special position in the Community of Southeast Asian countries.

PV:Thank you very much, comrade!

Thu Giang

(Perform)