In the current context of a globally volatile economy, every nation questions its positioning. In Southeast Asia and beyond, Vietnam is emerging as a bright spot of adaptability and strong development.

Investments in education, technology, and human resources, along with opening up and integrating into the global economy, have allowed Vietnam to develop robustly. The dynamism and eagerness to learn among Vietnamese people, along with the adoption of new technologies and digital transformation, are creating new opportunities for economic growth.

However, significant obstacles to global recovery remain, especially ongoing wars and geopolitical challenges. These factors directly impact Vietnam's development. In such a continuously changing and unpredictable international environment, Vietnam needs to find its own path towards sustainable, equitable, and prosperous development.

How can we connect the diverse and powerful resources of Vietnamese people worldwide to promote potential and development both domestically and internationally?

How can we elevate Vietnam's position compared to the world through appropriate orientations, drawing from both domestic and international perspectives?

How can we leverage the keys to success that have been established or pioneered to propel Vietnam forward?

VietNamNet’s guests will provide their insights on this matter.

- Prof., Dr. Nguyen Duc Khuong, Chairman of the Global Vietnam Science and Expertise Organization (AVSE Global)

- Dr. Dinh Thanh Huong, Executive Director of the Global Vietnam Science and Expertise Organization

- Dr. Vo Phuong Nga, CFO and Partner of the Global Vietnam Science and Expertise Organization

How can we connect the diverse and powerful resources of Vietnamese people globally to promote potential and development both domestically and internationally, Prof., Dr. Nguyen Duc Khuong?

Prof., Dr. Nguyen Duc Khuong: Firstly, I think we can all agree that human resources are one of the strategic and most important factors for any nation in today's development era.

The issue of human resources is frequently raised when we want to develop. For Vietnam, we have certain milestones, such as becoming a high-income developed country by 2045. This is a requirement, a goal, and a challenge for personnel work, with efforts to attract Vietnamese talents and intellects from around the world to participate in the construction and development of the country.

In the current context, to attract, discover, and utilize talents, besides access to medical and educational services and working conditions, we also need to pay more attention to talent access.

This doesn't just mean Vietnamese talents domestically and abroad but also reaching out internationally and globally. Because human resources exist everywhere. Our talent pool includes not only Vietnamese people at home and abroad but also international colleagues and talented individuals worldwide who wish to come to Vietnam to experience life, work, and exploration.

I believe that in today's era of scientific and technological development, artificial intelligence, new data, and digital technology, every individual and every talent seeks a meaningful goal in life. If we have an attractive environment and space for experiences, we can attract talent from everywhere.

This is an approach we can consider. To attract talented individuals to Vietnam, we clearly need to build both hard and soft infrastructure and, especially, a domestic team capable of integrating and working with them, using the same language - the language of science, life, and incorporating scientific and technological foundations into business, politics, and socio-economic life.

Dr. Vo Phuong Nga: In his earlier remarks, Khuong mentioned a very important concept. That is the open concept of talent. I want to emphasize a point: this open concept requires us to think from policy makers to implementers with the mindset of making Vietnam a magnet.

We can't talk much about attraction, attracting Vietnamese talents both domestically and internationally, attracting people, knowledge, and technology... with all that we can bring to Vietnam. We need to think of becoming a magnet to create that attraction. Because we can't just say "come here" without creating those attractions.

We have a large overseas Vietnamese community, with many successful Vietnamese individuals who have had the opportunity to study, teach, and work in developed countries. However, they chose to return to make contribution to Vietnam’s development. There are also many Vietnamese people abroad who always look towards their homeland. Dr. Dinh Thanh Huong, how do you view the concept of contribution? Can we contribute while staying abroad, or must we return to contribute fully to the country?

Dr. Dinh Thanh Huong: I am very passionate about this question. Contribution means working with passion and love to bring out ideas, actions, projects, and programs for the development of the country. I remember sitting with a "tycoon" about two years ago. He is the chairman of a very large corporation in Vietnam, pioneering in many big fields. He said, "You guys have something more than me, which is more patriotism." He joked, "Being close still contributes and develops but with less love."

Recently, when we met again, he said, "In the past, I always looked for talented Vietnamese people worldwide and invited them to come back to work. Now I say, just stay there. After Covid-19 pandemic, I realized that working remotely, working online, across time zones is very easy."

There are those who return, those who stay, those who work full-time for a job in Vietnam, or part-time, even in the form of "side jobs," but these "side jobs" are the foundation for connecting top global elites. Contribution can happen anywhere, in any form, as long as it comes from the heart and, of course, with qualifications. The better the qualifications, the greater the impact of the contribution.

I think this concept is very important and can change many things to, as Khuong and Nga mentioned, create a magnet. I meet many Vietnamese people like that. Their "contribution" surpasses personal careers and family factors.

Prof., Dr. Nguyen Duc Khuong: There's something interesting that every young person experiences before going abroad: they live and grow up in Vietnam. Whenever we step out of Vietnam, we always know in our hearts and minds that we are Vietnamese, always carrying the biggest expectation that international friends and colleagues mention the word "Vietnam" and Vietnamese people.

Every Vietnamese person living and working abroad has to make great efforts. First, to integrate into the community, second, to succeed in their work, and inevitably, at every moment, they think about whether what they learn here, what they succeed at here, can help Vietnam or whether they can participate in some developmental process in Vietnam.

The thread connecting all those aspirations and desires is Vietnamese culture, or more succinctly, Vietnamese culture exists in each of us.

As mentioned above, we need a new perspective, a new approach to talent and attracting talent. What is your view on this, Dr. Dinh Thanh Huong:?

Dr. Dinh Thanh Huong: I used to think about attracting talent as Vietnamese people domestically and abroad. But now, I think about attracting talent to Vietnam, meaning it could be highly intellectual foreigners coming to Vietnam, doing work that contributes to Vietnam's development.

Some people initially come purely because of good job conditions or opportunities. But then they gradually grow to love and work for the Vietnamese community to increase connectivity.

Looking at Singapore, a typical case with more than 30% of talent not being Singaporean citizens. Or Luxembourg, with a population equivalent to Quang Tri province. A very small country but with a per capita income of over $100,000. Many people working there are not Luxembourg citizens, even over 50% of senior experts are not Luxembourg citizens...

I think we should extend our approach to attract the most talented, multi-national people.

Some regions or countries lead in attracting talent through financial mechanisms. For example, in Dubai, you don't have to pay personal taxes. When you work in Europe or America, the income is already quite high, but in Dubai, the salary can even double.

For Vietnam, I think finances are just one factor. We need to use a new approach – like Khuong mentioned about the concept of "culture." We need to leverage cultural strengths to attract experiences. I also want to mention a concept that I really like, which is "open laboratories," places that attract all ideas and new experiences.

Prof., Dr. Nguyen Duc Khuong: Open laboratories" in pioneering innovation countries are considered top priorities.

Dr. Dinh Thanh Huong: I want to add a bit about attracting talent within the context of positioning Vietnam in the region or the international arena. I think about the phrase "unique experiences."

Young people, despite challenging and volatile environments, find attractive experiences more appealing than countries that precede us, which is also an attraction.

Secondly, returning to the "open concept" - allowing experiments. We present a problem but can't develop it in a direction that requires solving it in a certain way. How can we have as many solutions as possible? This diversity creates attractiveness and a distinctive position for Vietnam.

From the perspective of the Global Vietnam Science and Expertise Organization, what should we do to connect young people into a common network, thereby creating a community for outstanding individuals to find, aim for, share, and contribute, Prof., Dr. Nguyen Duc Khuong?

Prof., Dr. Nguyen Duc Khuong: I love this question. At the national level and throughout Vietnamese history, whenever we utilize the human resource potential, attract talent from everywhere to serve the construction and development of the country, we have periods of prosperity.

Regarding attracting talent, gathering the intellectual resources of Vietnamese people and international friends to participate in networks that directly contribute to Vietnam's sustainable and prosperous development, we have a perspective on talent.

We talked about the "open concept" of talent, and now what qualities must these talents have to be able to gather, work together, and go far together? I think of three qualities: discipline, soft skills, and persistence.

Discipline helps us set goals, positioning, desires, and structured plans for work and personal development.

Soft skills are also crucial in the current era. The economic, social, and geopolitical contexts frequently change. We can hardly predict what will happen in the next six months. How can we have the adaptive capacity to face challenges and difficulties? Soft skills also help talents integrate into a team-working environment, contribute collectively, and have common paths with many others.

Finally, persistence. The Japanese say, "When we fall seven times, we still stand up the eighth time."

Prof., Dr. Nguyen Duc Khuong, at the 2024 Forum for Influential Vietnamese held last March in Paris, you mentioned that we are living in a very new and volatile world. So, in an internationally changing, unpredictable, unstable, and uncertain environment, Vietnam needs to find its own path towards sustainable, equitable, and prosperous development. What is the approach and new path, in your opinion?

Prof., Dr. Nguyen Duc Khuong: I think the best answer comes from collective wisdom. My expectation is that we can work together, think together, and find a common path.

The first factor is political and social stability domestically. Any nation in its current developmental phase needs a stable macro environment, a solid social foundation, ensuring that everyone can access opportunities, resources, develop themselves, and easily participate in common societal stories.

The second condition I believe is equally important. Vietnamese people domestically and abroad are all brand ambassadors. When we step out of Vietnam's borders, we are ambassadors. International friends looking at us will know the spirit, strength, and position of Vietnam.

We must be ready to elevate ourselves, a common aspiration of each person within Vietnam's overall aspirations, to create a Vietnamese aspiration to reach out to the world and positively contribute to global development and prosperity. That means within the national collective aspiration, there is each individual's aspiration.

The third is about a "Global Vietnam." Here it's about connecting resources. Global connections will make Vietnam interact positively with many international partners, creating strategic trust from partners about a "Global Vietnam," a Vietnam present everywhere, ready to cooperate and build development communities everywhere in the world. Every country with a Vietnamese presence will help us become a center attracting resources.

The final story is about the personality of Vietnamese talent, which we hope to see in the future. That personality is resilience, a high resistance to all adverse shocks. Be persistent in doing good stories of oneself, and each day find ways to improve compared to yesterday.

With collective wisdom, with the spirit of a "Global Vietnam," we can find our own path, Vietnam's unique path.

Dr. Dinh Thanh Huong: I think the first idea of a "Global Vietnam" is to create a "flat Vietnam," where everywhere is Vietnamese, where everyone is an ambassador of the Vietnamese brand, where everyone contributes to Vietnam's development and connection to the world, connecting the world to Vietnam.

Khuong talked about persistence, perseverance, and not giving up; if it becomes a cultural trait, that's a fundamental difference.

Culture needs to be built, maintained, nurtured, developed, and come from education. I want to emphasize the aspect of survival, breakthrough, longevity must come from a long-term education program, embedded in the values and skills of people. This will determine the national destiny in the future.

Dr. Vo Phuong Nga, as CFO and Partner of the Global Vietnam Science and Expertise Organization, could you share about the resources and projects that the organization has been implementing to promote sustainable and prosperous development in Vietnam?

Dr. Vo Phuong Nga: We steadfastly pursue "think, act, and connect." We try to link it with global trends and actions that support Vietnam, which is "Think."

"Act" means implementing actions. We promote and act. We talked about the 2024 Forum for Influential Vietnamese, asking where these people get the energy to share and contribute.

Actually, everything comes naturally; big things come from small things, from smoldering thoughts, from connection points... creating adhesive to bind together.

Regarding "connect," today we mentioned some new concepts like "gravitational force," "open laboratories," "soft power"... I want to add a concept that I deeply value: "synergy." I love the saying: "No one of us is as smart as all of us combined."

So, in the journey to connect knowledge for a prosperous Vietnam, what is the next path and goal of the Global Vietnam Science and Expertise Organization, Prof., Dr. Nguyen Duc Khuong?

Prof., Dr. Nguyen Duc Khuong: The goal of the Global Vietnam Science and Expertise Organization since its inception has not changed. That is the spirit and aspiration, the desire to join hands, contributing to the overall development, sustainability, and prosperity in Vietnam by connecting intellectual resources, human resources, and Vietnamese talents worldwide. Besides that, there are communities, colleagues, and international friends.

That has been the consistent mission throughout the formation and development of the Global Vietnam Science and Expertise Organization to this point. I think we will continue on that path and focus on three keywords: Talent, innovation, and sustainability. Programs and projects are designed and structured based on these three keywords.

An internal spirit to motivate each other, share with each other in work, is "transcend oneself."

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