For the last few days, international media has repeatedly covered the intensive agenda of Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in New York, especially his address at the United Nations titled “The Humanity Needs a World Free from War and Hunger.” In the role of prime minister of a nation that gone through multiple wars, said Dung, the sharings “were sweat- and blood-infused experiences.”
Dung arrived in the U.S. in the context of Vietnam’s polity and economy having received brightened and relatively positive signals. Bad debts have been controlled and Dung stated to the international community: Vietnam‘s aim by the end of 2015 is to bring down the bad-debt ratio to below 3 percent. The state bank governor has made that commitment to the National Assembly, adding, “We believe it will be achieved.”
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Vietnamese Prime Minister Tan Dung delivers an address to the U.N. General Assembly on Friday in New York. (Korea Herald file) |
The confidence in the emerging economy that embraces high potential and has been drastically reformed for high growth again, has returned to the foreign investors, among whom are Americans. The new evidence includes Warburg Pincus investment fund securing a $200 million deal that claims 20 percent shares of the Vingroup Corporation. This is probably the largest share ever bought by a global investor for the first time in Vietnam.
As the guest speaker to 50 top American businesspeople, such confidence was strengthened again when Dung straightforwardly shared that Vietnam will continue to pursue privatization of the state-owned enterprises, to promote private-sector development, to conduct administrative reform, and to improve the business environment to lure more foreign investment. Dung went on further to make a direct public announcement and openly request foreign investors to pay interest in the financial sector, particularly investing into the insurance market, the stock exchange and especially into Vietnam’s real estate market. Dung has deliberately mentioned that this is a golden time for foreign investors, while he strongly believes that Warburg Pincus “upon pouring $200 million” will surely achieve success as the market becomes vibrantly warmer under Vietnam’s specific measures and solutions.
Dung’s communiqué received serious attention from the U.S. business community. Having been interviewed by the media, Josette Sheeran, chair of U.S.-Asian Business Group, revealed, “Mr. Dung has made a clear message toward the American business community: Vietnam has a grand vision and ambition in economic development and integration into the world economy. Furthermore, the prime minister has clarified Vietnam’s action agenda in solving domestic challenges and has shown the international community that Vietnam wants to contribute her wholehearted effort to the world.”
The facts that the business community and observers praised Dung in his visit to New York this time were his courage against Vietnam’s immediate, short-term challenges and his personal dedication to all-round, in-depth reform and renovation.
Dung came to New York this time in particularly good faith after making his special remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue. It’s not difficult to understand why the international media has followed this leader from Asia, because Asia has been a focal point of the world and the prime minister of Vietnam has placed himself in the heart of Asia after “making waves” at the Shangri-La Dialogue with his long-echoed address.
In the recent multilateral discussion at the U.N.’s General Assembly summit debate, Dung has made the international media totally satisfied with an address titled “The Humanity Needs a World Free of War and Hunger.” The summit discussion session of the U.N.’s General Assembly is the planet’s largest forum and the issues Dung mentioned in his sentimental address are actually subjects that the whole world is concerned with such as peace, poverty and hunger alleviation and sustainable development.
For the first time, at a global forum, where the world has been threatened by civil war in the Middle East and potential use of chemical warfare, the leader of a nation that was torn in wars and poverty, and was also a soldier who had carried a gun to defend his nation, had voiced a statement at the bottom of his people’s heart. Dung has put his supreme leadership view to a side, instead he made a statement like a soldier of the heroic people’s army of Vietnam: As a Vietnamese person, what I have just shared with you comes from experiences soaked in sweat and blood. Just a few decades ago, the word Vietnam was synonymous with war, division, blood and tears. A remote country called Vietnam suffered 15 million tons of bombs, four times the amount used in World War II. Each Vietnamese bore nearly 10 times his or her weight worth of bombs, not to mention our suffering from over 70 million liters of the silent but deadly Agent Orange/Dioxin. And he went on to affirm the whole world with the traditional notion of Vietnamese triumphant values: “Benevolence triumphs over brutality, virtue drives out tyranny, with courageous sacrifice and creativity, with the support of peace-loving people, nations and international organizations; Vietnam has defended its independence, united and rebuilt from the ashes of war, and left behind the past to become an active and responsible member of the international community.”
The message of Prime Minister Dung has provoked strong emotion in the global community and toward the Vietnamese at home. The once experienced diplomat Nguyen Di Nien shared with the National Radio that he could not contain his affection to the sentimental and in-depth statement with human sensed images of the prime minister. Nien said that anybody who heard in the prime minister’s address -- “All human life is precious, irrespective of race, religion or gender. Taking away a single life causes heart-breaking pain to a family whether right here in Manhattan or far away in a remote corner of the earth,” -- probably all become bustling in emotion that the sound and desire for peace were voiced naturally, which makes everyone feel that peace and development are inevitable ambition of all. And in order to achieve it, “Strategic trust among nations must be constantly fostered with honesty, sincerity and concrete actions,” has been repeated again by the prime minister from his infamous and long-echoed address at the Shangri-La Dialogue.
In parallel with the “echo sound” from his address in the Shangri-La forum, Dung made an analogue of “The Three Musketeers” which is authored by the French writer Alexander Dumas, calling, “I urge the global community, with a sense of responsibility and humanity, to craft an ambitious post-2015 development agenda and redouble our efforts to promote peace, end hunger and poverty, and protect our planet.” He called on every nation to help each other and pave ways for less-developed nations to effectively take part in global agreements, treaties, institutions and solutions to humanitarian issues. Let us develop a road map of actions for poorer nations to effectively participate in international agreements, institutions and face and overcome global challenges and dangers in the spirit of Alexander Dumas’ musketeers, “One for all and all for one.”
The observers acknowledged that Dung has successfully built the strategic confidence of the international community towards Vietnam beyond the Shangri-La Dialogue and by the visit in the U.S. with the “shaking” statement in the U.N.’s General Assembly, that all showing strong signals for planting and nurturing such “confidence.” The chair of the U.S.-Vietnam Business Council confirmed such acknowledgement when saying Dung is a close friend of the U.S. His presence in the U.S. has shown the confidence of U.S. business in Vietnam’s business environment. “The dark global economy has not impeded Vietnam-American bilateral trade from growing to $22 billion last year. We hope this figure will be much higher in the coming years. American businesses are eager to make more trade relations in Vietnam when the TPP is achieved,” confirmed by Alex Feldman, president of the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council.
Before Dung, no other leader from Asia was ever so open-hearted to the U.S. or international community. The talents of Dung in the world’s polity has earned Vietnam’s exceptional values about a renovating country, such values are intangible but perhaps greater than any dollar amount that is brought in by FDI. The diplomacy with agility and flexibility but resolve, smart as well as fortified towards the enormous matters that are related to the nation‘s and region’s vitality such as Eastern Sea, economic restructure and crisis-bottom maneuver away have made Dung an Asian representing leader and an influential character. Dung is the courageous musketeer that enclosed the world community together by “building strategic confidence” and the spirit of “One for all and all for one.” He has been praised by the international media as the invincible leader of Vietnam in the quest of driving the country‘s economy out of uncharted water.
