Vietnam represented at OECD Ministerial Council Meeting 2023

Minister Son attended the event as representative of Vietnam, the co-chair of the OECD Southeast Asia Regional Programme, at the invitation of Mathias Cormann, secretary-general of the OECD, and the UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

Running with the theme of “Securing a Resilient Future: Shared Values and Global Partnerships”, the meeting represents the most important event of the OECD this year, attracting the participation of ministers of the OECD member states and guest countries, along with leaders of the European Commission and many international organizations.

As part of his address at the function, FM Son stressed that sustainable and inclusive growth is secured only when a global and overarching approach centred on people is adopted.

Countries should therefore continue creating new growth impetuses while simultaneously stepping up technology application and innovation as a means of achieving a greener, cleaner, and smarter ecosystem. This process needs to be carried out in a concerted and harmonious manner, ranging from regulations and policies to apparatus, from infrastructure to technology, and from financial investment to human resources training. All of this should be done as a means of ensuring that no one or no country is left behind, he went on to say.

Making several important proposals, the Vietnamese diplomat stated that first, the OECD and countries should seek to promote policy co-ordination, minimise barriers, protect trade and investment, whilst building a smooth global trade system based on law, freedom, equality, transparency, and inclusiveness, with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at the centre.

Secondly, as a body giving policy advice and setting up global standards, the OECD should seek to increase dialogue with developing countries and take into consideration the conditions and viewpoints of countries outside of the bloc in its policy and global standard making process.

Thirdly, the organisation should help developing countries to improve their overall competitiveness, gain a foothold in global value chains, effectively adapt to global policy adjustments such as the global minimum corporate income tax and carbon border tax, and narrow the digital and technological gap. In addition, they should strive to tap into potential of female workers and small- and medium-sized enterprises, according to the Minister.

He stated that as co-chair of the OECD Southeast Asia Regional Programme, Vietnam will continue making active and responsible contributions to efforts in dealing with regional and global challenges.

As a means of further strengthening ties between Southeast Asian countries and OECD, the nation will host the second OECD - Southeast Asia Ministerial Forum this October. The initiative has been duly welcomed by the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting.

At the event, the OECD outlined the view that Asia will be the growth driver and a bright spot of the global economy this year and into 2024.

Member countries affirmed their recognition of the importance of the role of the Indo-Pacific region, with Southeast Asia being one of the top priorities of  the OECD. The meeting consented to boost linkages with and provide support for Southeast Asian nations to sustain the growth trend and further approach OECD standards and regulations.

Within the meeting’s framework, the Vietnamese delegation also attended many other important activities, including a global forum on technology and a workshop on changes to global tax policies.