Seoul (VNA) – Officials of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA) and partners of the Republic of Korea (RoK) have agreed to strengthen cooperation in public governance research, policy advice and training officials and civil servants, with a focus on digital transformation and responsible AI application.
During a working session between HCMA Director Doan Minh Huan and President of the Korea Institute of Public Administration (KIPA) Kwon Huck-ju on September 22, the two sides reviewed cooperation since they signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2016, including their coordination with the World Bank (WB) in developing criteria for evaluating government effectiveness in 2017.
Huan spoke highly of KIPA’s role in research and advising on administrative reform. He said that, in implementing the resolution of the 14th National Party Congress, Vietnam is focusing on institutional reform and a growth model driven by science, technology, innovation, digital transformation and high-quality human resources, with a key focus on strengthening implementation capacity.
Against this backdrop, Huan proposed closer cooperation between the two sides in research, training and policy advice, focusing on administrative reform, digital and smart governance, public-sector AI use, human resources and policy dialogues. He also called for joint research, knowledge sharing and practical exchanges to develop policy recommendations suited to each country’s needs.
He affirmed that HCMA was ready to work with KIPA to develop implementation plans with clear contents, focal points and outputs, while leveraging each side’s strengths to deliver practical results. Cooperation effectiveness, he said, should be measured by research quality, relevance of training programmes and practical value of policy recommendations.
For his part, Kwon shared experience in smart local administration and models being implemented in his country.
At a meeting with representatives of the National Human Resources Development Institute (NHI) of the RoK later the same day, Huan highlighted the cooperation established between the two institutions in 2014 and strengthened through MoUs signed in 2017 and 2024.
With support from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), NHI has organised study and training programmes for Vietnam’s strategic-level officials and sent experts to lecture and exchange experience at the HCMA. The two sides also jointly held a scientific seminar on public human resources development for socio-economic development in November 2024.
These lay the groundwork for the two sides to move from individual activities to a stable cooperation programme with clear objectives and an evaluation mechanism, Huan said.
Building on this foundation, he proposed five priorities, including jointly designing training programmes for strategic-level officials combining in-person and online formats, regularly exchanging experts, scholars, materials and training models, working with KOICA to seek continued support for a 2026-2030 project, organising annual short-term training courses in the RoK, and renewing training methods in line with digital transformation and AI.
HCMA also proposed that NHI share experience in applying AI to human resources management and continue sending experts to lecture on public leadership, innovation in the public sector and digital capabilities. The two sides agreed to increase forums, seminars and exchanges on public human resources development, talent management and administrative reform.
Through meetings on September 21-22 with the Korean Ministry of the Interior and Safety, KOICA, Samsung, KIPA and NHI, the Vietnamese delegation identified four cooperation priorities, including enhancing public governance capacity and policy implementation; promoting digital transformation and responsible AI use in the public sector; renewing official training; and developing leadership capacity for the new period.
The sides agreed to translate the discussions into programmes and activities with clear objectives, focal points and outputs, contributing to deeper, more comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and the RoK./.
