As part of the activities within the framework of the WTO Chair Program, Foreign Trade University recently organized the first Vietnam Forum on International Trade (VFIT) with the theme: Trade and the Twin Transition: Towards the Green and Digital Transformation. Representatives of State management agencies, embassies, universities and foreign organizations, and pioneering businesses in green and digital transformation in Vietnam attended the event.
Delivering the opening speech, Associate Professor. Dr. Pham Thu Huong – Vice President, Head of the Steering Committee of the WTO Chair Program at the Foreign Trade University emphasized digital transformation and green transformation as two strategic directions for socio-economic development to help countries take advantage of their potential proactively and positively utilizing the 4th Industrial Revolution. As one of the leading universities in Vietnam in the field of international trade, within the framework of the WTO Chair program, t Foreign Trade University has been actively participating in policy discussion and consulting activities, bridging the gap between academic and practical issues, and connect experts, managers and the business community related to these issues.
On behalf of the WTO Chair Program, Mr. Werner Zdouc – Director of the WTO Chairs Program of the World Trade Organization (WTO) expressed his appreciation and appreciation for continuous efforts of the Foreign Trade University in implementing research, training and outreach activities to promote multilateral cooperation and support the community in the field of international trade.
VFIT is organized with two main activities, including a Discussion Session and an Exhibition. The Discussion session includes three presentations with content related to green and digital transformation trends in the world and in Vietnam, along with exchanges by speakers and representatives of relevant parties with the audience.
Professor Henry Gao’s first presentation showed differences in digital trade regulations of the world’s three leading powers, including the US, Europe and China, and explained these differences from the perspective of each country’s interests and legal philosophy. These are considered important issues that need to be considered in future free trade agreements.
Mr. Tran Minh Tuan – Director of the Department of Digital Economy and Digital Society, Ministry of Information and Communications provided a comprehensive picture of the current state of digital transformation in Vietnam, policy perspectives, approaches, priority areas and national strategies for digital transformation. Digital transformation is considered the focus of development for the entire society in the coming time if Vietnam wants to catch up with the world’s development trend and move towards sustainable green transformation.
Associate Professor. Dr. Dao Ngoc Tien – Vice President of FTU, raised a topic receiving current attention related to how the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) of the European Union worked and some insights for Vietnam. Accordingly, Vietnam needed to have carbon pricing mechanisms and develop a carbon credit market to reduce emissions in the production process and serve as a foundation for trade negotiations with the EU related to CBAM for imported goods.
The roundtable discussion session had the participation of three additional speakers: Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Quyen – Digital Transformation Office, Department of Enterprise Development, Ministry of Planning and Investment; Mr. Le Huy Hoang – Digital Transformation Consulting Director, FPT Digital, and Attorney Victor Crochet from Van Bael & Bellis Law firm, continued to delve into the current situation of digital transformation and green transformation in Vietnam in the face of global consciousness. Mechanisms such as CBAM are expected to continue to be applied by developed countries in the future, causing many difficulties such as increasing proving costs for businesses, and difficulties in tracing the entire origin of goods in the entire supply chain. Experts emphasized that digital transformation would make an important contribution to the green transition process and vice versa. In Vietnam, building a database to serve digital transformation and cognitive change is an important factor contributing to this dual transformation process. In addition, Vietnam also needs to be prepared in terms of business support policies, cooperation initiatives and coping strategies to address the challenges posed by the twin transformation process.
Also within the framework of the Forum, the Exhibition provided space for organizations and businesses to present solutions that have been implemented towards green and digital transformation.
