Vietnam’s resilience unmatched by any other country: Harvard Prof.

Vietnam has shown exceptional skill in balancing relations among major nations, with a resilience that few can rival.

The Vietnamese delegate during a discussion session themed "Multiple Crises and Prospects for Economic Growth to 2030" at the Harvard Kennedy School. Photos: Tran Manh

Daewoo Professor of International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School Anthony James Saich shared his views during a discussion session with Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation at the Harvard Kennedy School on April 1.

The delegation is currently on a visit to the US to attend the Vietnam Senior Leadership Program (VELP) 2024 from March 30 to April 8.

Professor Thomas Vallely, Director of the Vietnam Program at Harvard Kennedy School, asserts that "Vietnam's success is attributable to its openness." He highlighted Vietnam's significant development while emphasizing the need for policy refinement for the upcoming period.

Former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama, Professor Jason Furman, who has visited Vietnam twice, expressed admiration for Vietnam's economic achievements. He said Vietnam is one of the world's most successful economies in terms of transformation over the past two decades. Furman also praised Vietnam's effective control of inflation and congratulated the country on this achievement.

Professor Jason Furman during the session.

Assessing global economic prospects and offering advice to Vietnam, Furman argued that Vietnam has done well to seize opportunities and has greatly benefited from globalization. American consumers are also "happier when buying products from Vietnam."

Underlining his optimism about Vietnam's economic growth, Furman believed that Vietnam's efforts to adopt various solutions to develop artificial intelligence are of significant importance. He also recommends that the country should invest in emerging technologies and sectors with spillover effects, and implement solutions for developing private economic zones, among others.

In his presentation, Dr. Le Viet Quoc from Google DeepMind, a division of Alphabet responsible for developing general-purpose artificial intelligence technology, stated that AI could contribute up to $25.6 trillion to the global economy. In 2023, the global AI market reached nearly $208 billion, and is projected to reach nearly $2 trillion by 2030, he said, citing data from Statista in 2023.

Quoc asserted that the world is in the midst of an AI explosion, with scientific advances and AI models spreading rapidly.

Expressing optimism about Vietnam's AI capabilities, Quoc believed that Vietnam has many opportunities in AI applications, cloud computing, and chip design. He shared his views on developing human resources and the AI ecosystem in Vietnam.

Speaking at the program, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai thanked the Harvard professors for presenting important topics of global interest such as AI and semiconductor chips. This presentation provided valuable information for the delegation to explore and set directions for the future.

In the context of Vietnam's ongoing economic transition, high openness, and limited resilience, Khai expressed a desire to continue receiving consultations and recommendations from scholars of the VELP program and Harvard Kennedy School in the process of formulating and implementing socio-economic development policies.

VELP is a high-level policy exchange program initiated in 2008 by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Harvard University. It serves as a useful channel for policy exchange, consultation, and discussion between Vietnamese leaders and Harvard professors, as well as leading experts worldwide. The discussions and exchanges under the VELP program have had positive impacts, contributing to Vietnam's economic development and strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and the US.