Vietnam has been praised internationally for its socio-political stability and an open and improved investment environment with high FDI attraction and a rapid economic growth. The WTO membership has made its voice heard in regional and international organisations, including the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member. These factors have all contributed to raising Vietnam’s profile in the world arena.

Nowadays, Vietnam is seen as an attractive investment and tourist destination in foreigners’ eyes. Taichi Sakaguchi, Director General of Japan’s Nikken International Asia Company said, “The reason why I have chosen Vietnam as an investment destination is that the country is an emerging economy with a rather high growth rate in Asia. I think Vietnam will further develop in the near future thanks to a strong development in its infrastructure. In addition, its abundant workforce and improved investment environment are capturing investors’ attention.”

Endowed with favourable geographical location and weather conditions, Vietnam has recently emerged as one of the world’s leading producers of farm produce. Notably, for the past few years, it has partly helped stabilise the supply and demand of the global coffee and pepper markets.

Vietnam is now trying its best to become a middle-income nation for various reasons. First of all, the country has a young workforce, which is making every effort to keep pace with the knowledge-based economy. The rapid development of the private economic sector has greatly contributed to creating jobs for people. More importantly, all Vietnamese people, especially intellectuals and young workers, are very optimistic about the country’s future.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told legislators at their year-end session in Hanoi last November that with the achievements Vietnam is likely to complete the 2006-2010 development plan ahead of schedule.

Le Thanh Tung, a young intellectual working for an enterprise in Ho Chi Minh City, says that the national economy has overcome immediate difficulties caused by high inflation and begun to bounce back thanks to the Government’s effective management.

“Vietnam has made its voice heard in the region and the world thanks to its significant achievements in economic and human development,” says Tung.

Given its high economic growth for many consecutive years, international organisations have praised Vietnam for distributing GDP to the people and ensuring social welfare. As a result, 99 percent of rural households have access to healthcare services, 100 percent of communes have telephone lines, and 85 percent of communes have cultural-cum-post offices. In addition, nearly 100 percent of communes have primary schools and 91 percent have secondary schools. Notably, Vietnamese students have won high prizes at international competitions for many years.

Professor and Academician Ho Si Vinh, director of the Institute for Education and Vocational Training under the Southeast Asia Research Association, says, “During the past 63 years, Vietnam has made a big leap forward in many areas, especially education. The Party and State have introduced many guidelines and policies on education and training aimed at developing human resources for the nation. Many people have held important positions in the State apparatus after being trained abroad, demonstrating the Party and State’s wide vision. I think human resources are always considered an important condition to raise the nation’s position globally.”

During the 1980s Vietnam was known worldwide for its success in reining in the galloping inflation rate, standing at more than 700 percent. Over the past two years, the country has been acclaimed internationally again for its efforts to curb runaway inflation. At times, the national economy was thought to go through the crisis like the Thai’s in 1997. However, the Government’s effective solutions have so far helped keep inflation in check, building up people’s confidence. Vietnamese people believe that the country will overcome difficulties to move forward in the international economic integration process.