Looking to a Sustainable Development Model

“Enhancing Vietnam’s Competitiveness for Sustainable Development” is the topic of a side conference to the World Economic Forum on East Asia (WEF on East Asia) held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the Global Compact Vietnam Network (GCVN) and the Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI) in Ho Chi Minh City on June 5, 2010.

 

The conference is aimed at promoting dialogues and discussions on the latest assessments on Vietnam’s general competitiveness, the role of businesses and public private partnership in promoting Vietnam’s competitiveness and the formation of a sustainable development model for the country and the region.

Presented by 12 lecturers and coordinators, the conference drew the attendance of more than 200 representatives from WEF-member businesses and was divided in two sessions themed “Vietnam - Putting Competitiveness at the Heart of Growth” and “Empowering Private Sector in Sustainable Development”. Dr Vu Tien Loc, President of VCCI, said: "Competitiveness and sustainable development are two organic sides of a matter. The two themes are very important to Vietnam and other countries and are seen as a regime to boost economic growth and created a sustainable investment environment.”

 

In the context of global economic crisis, the government and the business community of Vietnam are determined to pursue and strengthen a development model built on the competitiveness and oriented towards quality, efficiency and sustainability. Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said: “Since 1991, Vietnam's economy has grown at a stably high rate. However, the goal of sustainable growth is still ahead. In recent years, the high growth has not actually associated with an increase in economic efficiency. National social indicators have been significantly improved and all people have been benefited from the growth but major challenges remain the gap of regional social development and income gap between the urban and rural areas.”

 

With respect to the heightening of the role of business sector in sustainable development, Mr Dang Thanh Tam, President of Saigon Invest Group (SGI), said companies needed to use their resources efficiently and promote their capabilities to enhance their competitive advantage to maximise their contribution to the overall goal of sustainable development in Vietnam.

 

Mr Tam, who is the president of Kinhbac City Development Share Holding Corporation (KBC), a member of SGI and a leading developer and operator of real estate, industrial parks and urban areas in Vietnam, said: The global economic crisis did not cause one-side negative impact on business activities but it also offered the opportunity. In recent years, KBC has attracted many world-leading partners like Canon, Sanyo, Foxconn, Mitac and Nippon Steel to invest in Vietnam. Or, look in other aspect, if Vietnamese companies know to grasp and take advantage of new opportunities, they could achieve sustainable development.