Electronics component production in Hung Yen (Photo: VNA)In an interview granted to Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s correspondentsin Sydney on the threshold of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visitto Australia, the scholar said that Australia can deepen bilateral cooperationin the fields by providing “soft infrastructure” to Vietnam, including trainingGovernment officials in the areas of finance, environment and business.
Such programmes may be linked to undergraduate degreeprogrammes in public administration, he proposed. However, these programmesneed to be supplemented by internships in Australian state and federalgovernment agencies so that Vietnamese officials not only learn theory but alsoobserve the practices and culture of Australian management agencies, he added.
Dr. Leung said that the growth of the private sector is especiallyrelevant in Vietnam today as it allows Vietnam to move up the value chain inthe electronics sector to engage in component manufacturing rather than justassembly activities. A stronger private business sector in Vietnam will providemore investment opportunities for Australian companies, thus creating a“complete circle,” he stated.
The expert asserted that sound financial and businessregulation will help promote growth and development of Vietnam's formal privatesector, which is quite small by regional standards. The sector accounts for onlyabout 11% of GDP in Vietnam compared to 30% in Thailand and 50% in China.
The orderly growth and development of private companies in amarket economy depends on market-friendly regulations from the Government, atype of "soft infrastructure" for which Australia is capable to provide, he underlined.
Dr. Leung expressed his hope that Vietnamese Prime MinisterPham Minh Chinh will have a successful visit to Australia and that therelationship between the two countries will continue to develop more profoundlythrough a number of channels, including education and training./.
VNA
