University of Social Sciences and Humanities organizes a seminar to "offer advice" for Vietnam to seize the golden opportunity to become the world's factory.

On October 14, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) in collaboration with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation, Germany organized a discussion in a combined in-person and online format entitled: "Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global supply chain: Policy implications for Vietnam".

Experts from home and abroad discussed the profound impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global supply chain, Vietnam's transportation sector and business operations in the current context and gave practical recommendations.
 

During the discussion, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, former Director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, said that the pandemicCovid-19has exposed the limitations of the current global supply chain, such as "global economic dependence on one point, one link, one locality, making the economy more vulnerable than ever".

Vietnam is also affected by the complicated developments of the pandemic in the world and domestically. Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, said that because Vietnam has a high level of integration with the world and a certain dependence on external factors, global fluctuations and supply chain disruptions have a direct impact on Vietnam, of which the Covid-19 pandemic is a typical example.

However, according to Prof. Dr. Heribert Dieter, Institute for International and Security Affairs (Germany), Vietnam is currently considered one of the world's manufacturing centers and is facing a golden opportunity to become a "new global manufacturing factory". He believes that the current shift in the global supply chain to diversify and avoid dependence on one country is bringing opportunities to some economies such as Vietnam or India.
 

Mr. Florian Feyerabend, Chief Representative of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation in Vietnam, mentioned an article in a leading German newspaper that analyzed Vietnam's opportunities in the global supply chain. He optimistically said: "As social distancing measures are lifted and the vaccination campaign is accelerated, a new normal period will begin with economic drivers restarting. I believe that Vietnam will always be an attractive destination for foreign investors - especially Germany as they pursue supply chain diversification."

Mr. Feyerabend also commented that: "Vietnam is Germany's largest trading partner in ASEAN and is also the top choice among investment destinations in this region."

Recommendations for Vietnam

From analyzing and discussing the impacts of the pandemic on the supply chain, experts have made recommendations aimed at effectively addressing the challenges during the pandemic and the overall post-pandemic recovery of the economy. Specifically, these are the recommendations: Innovating approaches and thinking about supply chain issues; planning and scenarios for options suitable to the pandemic situation; quickly and widely implementing measures to support post-pandemic recovery.
 

Dr. Tran Toan Thang - Head of the Department of Industry and Enterprise Economic Forecasting, National Center for Socio-Economic Information and Forecasting, said that the Vietnamese government has introduced many groups of policies to support people and businesses in responding to the epidemic. However, he said that Vietnam needs to do better in implementing the policies so that these directions can become more effective. Mr. Thang said that the Government is designing a package of growth recovery policies, aiming to improve the economy in the longer term. He also commented that, with the impact of internal and external factors, the need to shift the supply chain to Vietnam is "relatively positive" and the question is how Vietnam will receive and implement these opportunities.
 

Meanwhile, expert Nguyen Anh Tuan also made a series of recommendations for Vietnam. He said that Vietnam needs to boost production to replace imports to reduce dependence on foreign countries, or diversify import sources to avoid being too dependent on one or a few specific countries.

Mr. Tuan called for increasing production and developing the network of essential and important goods such as food and healthcare, while supporting small and medium enterprises, because they will be the force that creates jobs and are very important in economic recovery.
 

Expert Nguyen Anh Tuan also stated that Vietnam needs to develop its labor force, take advantage of the golden population model, and improve the qualifications of its workers. He said that in the future, Vietnam needs to be self-sufficient in Covid-19 vaccines to ensure the tools to live with Covid-19. An important factor he mentioned is ensuring national security, including social security and economic security to ensure political security.

Concluding the discussion, Professor, Dr. Pham Quang Minh, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, commented: "The Covid-19 pandemic shows how closely we are connected and dependent on each other, but also shows how divided and isolated we are because of a small, invisible virus."