According to the
Vietnam News Agency’s correspondent in Seoul, on February 9, at the 2nd
Ministerial Conference of the Southeast Asian Regional Program (SEARP) of the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) held in Seoul,
Korea, Vietnam and Australia have officially assumed the role of co-chairs of
SEARP for the term 2022-2025, succeeded Thailand and Korea.
Vietnam
and Australia have officially assumed the role of co-chairs of the Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) - run Southeast Asia Regional
Programme (SEARP) for the term 2022-2025
Attending the Conference
were the Ministers and delegation heads of OECD’s 38 member economies, ASEAN’s
member countries, OECD Secretary - General, ASEAN Secretary -General and
leaders of many related international organizations.
Speaking at the opening
of the conference, the RoK Foreign Minister Chung Eui-Yong emphasized that
ASEAN is the one of the focuses of South Korea's New Southern Policy. The RoK
will continue to strengthen cooperation with the bloc to make more
contributions to the building of a greener, smarter and more inclusive ASEAN.
OECD Secretary General
Mathias Cormann also confirmed that ASEAN is a strategic priority area; The
OECD wishes to promote cooperation with and support for ASEAN member countries
in economic reform, cohesion and closer proximity to OECD standards.
Conference witnessed
the signing ceremony of the ASEAN - OECD Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
between the two Secretary - Generals of ASEAN and the OECD. With 31 areas of
cooperation, the MOU creates an important framework for enhancing the
partnership between ASEAN and the OECD in the coming time.
Immediately after the
opening ceremony, the Ministers held two important discussions on the building
of a greener, smarter ASEAN for an inclusive future, and the ensuring of green
recovery towards a more self-resilient ASEAN. The Ministers agreed on many
cooperation programs on promoting digital transformation, especially in areas
such as digital skills training, smart city development, e-commerce, support for
medium and large enterprises, tourism restoration and digital governance…
The conference also
discussed many cooperation contents to support countries in the region in
sustainable infrastructure development, environmentally friendly technology,
agriculture in response to climate change, etc.
Addressing at the
conference, Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son proposed three areas of
cooperation to strengthen the OECD and ASEAN partnership in the coming time.
Firstly, the OECD
continues to support and coordinate policy consultancy for ASEAN and regional
countries in the digital transformation process. The OECD and ASEAN members
need to promote coordination in research and policy formulation in areas of
practical significance such as smart governance, digital government, new
business models in the digital economy, and electronic trade, network
security... Minister Bui Thanh Son suggested that the OECD and its members
strengthen their assistance to ASEAN in effectively implementing the ASEAN
Comprehensive Recovery Framework, the ASEAN Industry 4.0 Strategy, and the
ASEAN Digital Master Plan 2025 and other action programmes related to digital
transformation.
Secondly, to ensure
that all people benefit from digitization, receive training and access to
digital technology, focusing on training and retraining human resources, and
supporting small, medium and micro enterprises. in digital transformation,
strengthening public-private partnerships.
Thirdly, the OECD
strengthens cooperation with, support for ASEAN in developing a low-carbon
economy, and fulfills its commitments at COP26 towards a greener and more
sustainable future.
Minister Bui Thanh Son
also suggested that the OECD and its member countries strengthen cooperation
with Vietnam in developing the digital economy, implementing the National
Program on digital transformation by 2030 and achieving the digital economy
goals that account for 20% of GDP (by 2025) and 30% of GDP (by 2030);
supporting Vietnam in transforming its growth model, increasing investment in
renewable energy, high technology and training high-quality human resources.
The Ministers agreed to
adopt a Joint Statement for a human-centre future - Partnership for a smarter,
greener and more inclusive ASEAN, affirming the strong commitment of the OECD
and Southeast Asia countries to strengthen cooperation for economic recovery,
promoting digital transformation, digital economy and green growth.
At the closing ceremony
of the conference, Australia and Vietnam officially took the charge of the
co-chair of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD)-run Southeast Asia Regional Programme (SEARP) for 2022-2025, succeeded from
Korea and Thailand.
* On the occasion of his
attendance at the 2nd SEARP Ministerial Conference, Foreign Minister
Bui Thanh Son received Mr. Mathias Cormann, Secretary General of the OECD and
Mr. Stanislav Rascan, State Secretary and Acting Minister of Development
Cooperation of Slovenia.
General Secretary
Mathias Cormann congratulated Vietnam's socio-economic development
achievements; highly appreciated that Vietnam has been elected by SEARP members
as Co-Chair of the SEARP Program; believed that with the role, position and
prestige in the region, Vietnam and Australia will contribute to continue
promoting the program's activities. The OECD Secretary - General also affirmed
that the OECD and its member countries will continue to accompany Vietnam in
efforts to recover the economy, transform growth models, digital technology,
and realize the goals of rapid and sustainable development.
At the meeting with the
State Secretary and Acting Minister of Development Cooperation of Slovenia, the
two parties pledged to promote the practical multi-faceted cooperation between
Vietnam and Slovenia, especially in the fields of trade and investment, and at
the same time strengthen the coordination and support for each other at multilateral
forums and mechanisms.
(http: vufo.org.vn for Vietnamese version)