Manila (VNA) – General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President of Vietnam To Lam met with representatives of some organisations and businesses in the Philippines on May 31 afternoon, part of his state visit to the archipelagic nation.
Talking to President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Masato Kanda, General Secretary and President Lam affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to its cooperation with the bank and wishes to further deepen this partnership in the new development phase.
Noting that Vietnam and the ADB boast a long-standing, reliable, and effective development partnership through financial support, expertise sharing, and policy assistance, he expressed his hope that the ADB will continue to help Vietnam with promoting sustainable economic growth, enhancing the competitiveness of the economy, strengthening its resilience to global challenges, and gradually realising the long-term development goals.
He hailed the ADB's initiatives in such areas as energy connectivity, capital market development, digital economy integration, green transition and finance, which match the development needs of ASEAN in general and Vietnam in particular, thus supplementing resources, knowledge, and international experience for more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth.
Vietnam is committed to closely coordinating with, creating favourable conditions for, and maintaining regular discussions with the ADB to promote the effective implementation of cooperation ideas in the coming period, the top leader stated.
Lauding the cooperative relationship with Vietnam over the past 30 years, the ADB President affirmed that Vietnam is an important development partner, and expressed admiration for its recent socio-economic achievements as well as future development goals.
Kanda underlined the ADB’s continued commitment to supporting Vietnam to achieve its long-term development goals, including transforming the growth model, enhancing competitiveness, developing the private sector, boosting green transition, and strengthening regional integration.
The ADB is particularly interested in supporting the private sector development in Vietnam, he added.
At a meeting with Saia Ma’u Piukala, Regional Director for the Western Pacific of the World Health Organisation (WHO), General Secretary and President Lam highly valued the role of WHO at the global and regional levels in assisting countries, including Vietnam, to improve their health capacity and protect and care for public health. He thanked WHO for recognising Vietnam's efforts and achievements in the prevention and control of the harmful effects of tobacco.
To provide better health care for the people and strengthen the capacity to respond to future health emergencies, the Party and State leader called for continued professional support and technical advice from WHO to improve policymaking effectiveness and align the health system’s organisation with the new context.
He also suggested WHO introduce and disseminate Vietnamese traditional medicine alongside modern medicine to increase resources and methods in caring for and protecting public health in the region and around the world.
Piukala acknowledged Vietnam's efforts and successes in public health care while highly valuing its proactive approach by recently issuing a resolution on breakthrough measures to step up the protection, care, and improvement of public health.
The Regional Director pledged to continue to cooperate with and support Vietnam in disease prevention and control by improving the capacity for forecasting, surveillance, detection and prevention of epidemics, emergency response, and health security. He also vowed assistance in promoting healthy lifestyles, building an efficient and sustainable national health service delivery system in line with the goal of universal health coverage, accelerating digital transformation in health care and the effective application of information technology to ensure interconnectivity, and upgrading infrastructure and equipment for grassroots health establishments.
Receiving President and CEO of Aboitiz Foods Tristan Aboitiz, General Secretary and President Lam spoke highly of the firm's activities in the fields directly related to Vietnam's development needs such as energy, food – agriculture, infrastructure, finance, industrial real estate, and data – artificial intelligence, which have contributed to a substantive economic cooperation channel between Vietnam and the Philippines.
He said the areas Aboitiz Foods interested in are directly linked to the country's major priorities in the new period. Encouraging the group to explore cooperation opportunities in certain fields, he suggested it consider investment in stable, sustainable, low-emission, and resilient energy supplies that suit Vietnam's actual conditions. It was also suggested to implement some cooperation models to promote green agriculture, smart farming, traceability, food safety, sustainable food value chains, and food security in ASEAN.
Aboitiz said he is impressed with Vietnam's recent economic achievements and hopes to continue expanding investment in areas matching Vietnam's development priorities, particularly energy, food – agriculture, infrastructure, and digital transformation, and to promote projects that meet food safety and environmental standards, develop green agriculture, and ensure sustainable supply chains.
Meeting with Chin Yin Ong, Chief Organisation Capability Officer at Grab, General Secretary and President Lam applauded the group's activities and contributions in Vietnam, especially in promoting e-commerce and digital transformation for people and businesses.
He stated that Vietnam is speeding up the development of the digital economy, digital society, smart cities, and sustainable transport models, with a focus on the quality of public services, digital infrastructure, cashless payments, urban traffic management, and digital services.
The leader welcomed Grab's development orientations which, he said, are in line with Vietnam's conditions and development trends. He encouraged it to invest in building smart cities and developing green and smart public transport systems in Vietnam, and promote Vietnamese tourism and cuisine on the Grab platform.
Chin Yin Ong described Vietnam as an important market for Grab, which is currently operating in various provinces and cities with at least three services (GrabBike, GrabFood and GrabTaxi), enabling users to access safe, quality, and reliable digital services, as well as offering locals opportunities to earn additional income.
She pledged to partner with Vietnam to carry out measures to boost multimodal transport connectivity, support urban public transport, and develop infrastructure supporting green vehicles. Grab will also work with the country to promote digital transformation and improve people’s digital skills through its online learning platform, popularise Vietnam's image regionally, and explore pilot mechanisms for some new technologies such as autonomous vehicles and delivery robots.
The officer affirmed Grab’s continued investment and long-term operations in Vietnam to serve people and contribute to local efforts to realise important goals and strategies. The firm remains open to all possibilities and opportunities for cooperation, she went on, voicing its hope to continue receiving support from all-level authorities./.
