Ho Chi Minh City, the southern economic hub of Vietnam (Photo: VNA) The remark was made by JaeHo Jeong, Hanoi Bureau Chief of the Republic of Korea's HANKOOKILBO, onJanuary 26 when he was present at the National Convention Centre in Hanoi tocover the opening ceremony of the 13th National Congress of theCommunist Party of Vietnam (CPV), the most important political event ofVietnam.
“I think Vietnam will have a brighter future than the present,” he said, adding“its role will increase amid the rapidly changing global situation”.
More industrial facilities based in China will be relocated to Vietnam, and itwill also serve as a key country connecting Europe and Asia with theEurope-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) taking effect. Nearby Indochinesecountries are predicted to take a long time to catch up with Vietnam due to alack of industrial infrastructure.
“As the current trend continues, it is certain that Vietnam will solidify itsposition as a leader of Southeast Asia. The successful ASEAN chairmanship lastyear will maintain its high status in the future,” the reporter from theRepublic of Korea (RoK) noted.
Vietnam's economic development and social stability over the past decade arevery impressive, he said, attributing these achievements to the Vietnamese Government'sclear plan and the active participation of the people.
JaeHo Jeong also forecast that RoK companies' investment in Vietnam willincrease further as the Southeast Asian nation still provides an attractiveinvestment environment for foreign companies despite the COVID-19 crisis.
Due to the conflict between the US and China, many Korean firms are alreadyrelocating their factories to Vietnam and “brown” investments, including jointventures and acquisitions of stakes by Vietnamese companies, continue toincrease.
The sense of national stability coming from the successful pandemic control isone of the important reasons for the increase in investment by Korean companies,he said, adding there is a high possibility that new investments by RoKelectronic components and hi-tech companies will increase in the near future.
Sharing views with the RoK colleague,reporter Ngo Xuan Tung, who works for CNA Singapore, said that Vietnam has thepotential and conditions to realise its goal of becoming a developed country by2045 because it has a young population and an attractive investmentenvironment.
However, in the context of many new and complicated developments in the regionand the world, Vietnam will face many challenges in realizing the above goal.
“Vietnam needs to have policies to concretise the realisation of targets withsynchronous solutions from the central to local level,” he underlined.
The story of development poses a challenge to the environment that people arevery concerned about, he said, adding that Vietnam has paid much attention toensuring the environment for sustainable development by selecting investorsbased on quality instead of quantity and attaching importance to the factor ofincreasing technology content.
Vietnam's potential and strengths, if fully tapped, will become conditions for thecountry to make its dream come true, he noted.
Meanwhile, John Harding, an Australian journalist who boasts many years ofworking in Vietnam, spoke highly of achievements made by the country under the leadership ofthe CPV over the past time, especially in COVID-19 prevention and control.
“I think the CPVhad done a good job over the years. When it gave instructions about what to dowhen COVID-19 hit, people listened. They stayed at home, wore masks, and didn’tcomplain. And it has been controlled here so far. I think that’s a result of people’sfaith in the party and that it knows what it’s doing,” he said.
“Vietnam’s growth is pretty high, so it isnoted by political leaders, economists, and investors around the world,” headded./.
VNA
