Research on the model of the social welfare state in Sweden

Accordingly, the delegation of cadres sent by the Central Organizing Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam to Sweden for research includes 14 students, who are leaders at department level or higher of agencies of the Party, the National Assembly, the Government, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Provincial Party Committees, and central press agencies. This is the second class organized at Uppsala University under the 2025 cadre training cooperation program between Vietnam and Sweden.

Attending the class on the side of Nghe An province was comrade Vo Thi Minh Sinh - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairwoman of the Provincial Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation as head of the delegation.

After two weeks of study, the students were discussed and answered by lecturers from Uppsala University, Stockholm University, Lund University and experts, parliamentarians, tax and social insurance management agencies, representatives of local management boards... about issues of the Swedish social welfare state.

Students have the opportunity to learn and research issues such as: Building a welfare state; building and implementing policies on pension insurance, unemployment insurance, health insurance, policies on education, health, maternity regime, elderly care, family policies, tax collection mechanisms, management of tax revenue sources...

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the course, Ms. Lena Sundberg, Director of the Training Cooperation Project, Uppsala University, said: Hopefully, the students will acquire a lot of knowledge, information and experience about the Swedish social welfare state model; contributing to advising and planning policies on social security in Vietnam.

Ms. Vo Thi Minh Sinh, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairwoman of the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An Province, on behalf of the students of the class, thanked the lecturers of Uppsala University, as well as the functional agencies and units of Sweden. The experiences and knowledge learned from the class will help each student apply creatively according to the assigned responsibilities and tasks to advise and plan social security policies in Vietnam.

According to Professor Anders Lindbom, Uppsala University, it is very necessary for Vietnam to send a delegation of officials to study, research and learn about the Swedish welfare state model, as many other countries have done the same.

In the late 19th century, Sweden sent officials to study the conservative welfare state model from Germany, because this country had experience in building and enacting social security policies of the welfare state. Of course, we should not learn and mechanically apply the model of one country to the reality of another country.

There are currently three models of welfare states in the world: liberal (as in the US), conservative (Germany), and social democratic (Sweden). Each of the above welfare state models has its own advantages and disadvantages. Up to now, the conservative and social democratic welfare state models are operating well and are applied by many countries.

In the late 19th century, Sweden also sent officials to study the conservative welfare state model of Germany, which had experience in building and enacting social security policies. Of course, we should not learn and mechanically apply the model of one country to another.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Sweden Tran Van Tuan, this is the second class in the training cooperation program between Vietnam and Sweden in 2025 and there will be other classes in the coming time. The Vietnamese Embassy in Sweden will be a bridge to help the training cooperation program between the two countries achieve high efficiency.

Uppsala University currently has 53,000 students and 7,600 staff, with 3 specialized fields and 9 faculties, 60 departments and offices; training 80 international Master's programs and 7 international Bachelor's programs; has trained 1,300 international students and sent 900 of the school's students to study in countries around the world.

Uppsala University is ranked 11th out of 700 universities worldwide; has strengths in multidisciplinary research, is a center for political science, the social welfare state model, social security and public health.

Within the framework of the training program, students visited, learned and exchanged experiences on social security issues in Sweden; learned about the traditions and history of Uppsala University.