Da Nang upholds economic diplomacy for local development
Since the approval of Directive 41-CT/TW on strengthening economic diplomacy during Viet Nam’s industrialization and modernization by the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, Da Nang has become one of the first localities in the country to build up master plans on economic diplomacy for the 2011-2015 and 2016-2020 periods.
Latest
 |
| At the Conference on Reviewing the Economic Diplomacy in the 2016-2020 period in March 2021. (Photo: VNA) |
The projects have yielded positive results in the external economies and concretized international economic integration activities, deepening the economic field in the development of cooperation relations between Da Nang and foreign partners, expanding and promoting cooperation relations with major organizations, economic groups, and financial institutions in the region and the world, while fostering Da Nang’s effective participation in international forums.
So far, Da Nang has gained practical benefits from various cooperation projects with specific contents and appropriate solutions, such as the city’s relationship with localities of Japan and the Republic of Korea, the World Bank (WB), or other investment funds and large corporations worldwide. The city’s position in the international arena has been enhanced thanks to its active and effective participation in many international forums, including the Network of Local Authorities for the Management of Human Settlements (CITYNET) and the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN)...
Meanwhile, Da Nang has attached considerable impotance to popularizing its potential and strengths while further boosting trade, investment, and tourism as well as increasing their market shares. Over the past time, the city has developed into a hub for trade, product marketing, and foreign investment, and a popular and ideal tourist destination for visitors from both inside and outside the country. The mobilization of official development assistance (ODA), international non-governmental (NGO) aid, and investment promotion in the form of public-private partnership (PPP); overseas Vietnamese (OVs) and foreign investors’ investment and business cooperation have all been fostered, generating positive outcomes. As a result, Da Nang has gradually become a dynamically developing city and a reliable investment destination for foreign investors, a favorite tourist destination, and a city of international events.
Amid the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic with unforeseeable changes, Viet Nam and many other nations have opted to live with the pandemic, adapting safely and flexibly to meet the dual goals of pandemic prevention and control as well as socio-economic development. Da Nang has issued one of the most important projects, the Master Plan for Economic Diplomacy in the 2021-2025 Period, to further improve the role and quality of foreign affairs in general, and economic diplomacy and international economic integration in particular in Da Nang in the time to come. In addition, the Master Plan aims to realize resolutions of the Party Congresses at all levels, especially the Resolution of the 22nd Party Congress of the Da Nang city Party Committee, and the Resolution No.43-NQ/TW issued on January 24, 2019 by the Politburo on construction and development of Da Nang toward 2030, with a vision to 2045.
Particularly, the Master Plan targets to renew directions and approaches to major international partners; survey new markets; increase the efficiency and practical value of trade, tourism and investment promotion activities in foreign markets; improve the capacity of the city’s enterprises in order to create a strong breakthrough in international trade, actively invest in trade promotion and tourism, especially participate in fairs and exhibitions abroad; strengthen human resources for foreign economic activities, and so on. In addition, the Master Plan also proposes measures to implement economic diplomacy activities in line with the complicated developments of the pandemic in the world.
The Master Plan consists of seven main goals with an aim of taking advantage of the diplomacy and resources to contribute to promoting economic restructuring and boosting sustainable growth and development of the city. Here are the seven targets: Firstly, beefing up research, forecasting, and synthesizing information, and strategic orientation for the city’s international integration and economic diplomacy; Secondly, promoting bilateral and multilateral cooperation; Thirdly, stepping up promotion of investment, trade, finance, tourism, high-tech industry, science-technology, innovation, education, healthcare, and environment; Fourthly, actively mobilizing ODA capital, NGO aid and investment promotion via PPP principles; Fifthly, calling on OVs, foreigners, foreign direct investment (FDI) businesses in Da Nang to contribute to the city’s socio-economic development; Sixthly, taking advantage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ support, the network of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad and central ministries, and the foreign representative offices in Viet Nam in fostering economic diplomacy; and Last but not least, developing human resources for economic diplomacy.
 |
| Mr. Le Trung Chinh, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Da Nang City at the Viet Nam-Tochigi Economic Forum in November 2021. (Photo: VNA) |
The economic development strategy of Da Nang towards 2030 set a target of “Building Da Nang into an ecological, creative and livable city towards the goal of sustainable development.” Particularly, the city will make full use of potential of international integration, and at the same time will connect and converge regional, domestic and international resources, contributing to becoming “A major socio-economic center of Viet Nam and Southeast Asia with a central role on tourism, commerce, finance, logistics, high-tech industry, information technology (IT), supporting industries, entrepreneurship, and innovation.” To this end, the city should focus on promoting foreign investment in main projects; developing spearhead industries including: high-quality tourism, logistics, blue economy, finance and banking, IT, high-tech industry, healthcare, smart city construction, innovative start-up; developing human resources and cultural and social identities; seriously making efforts in protecting environment and well responding to disasters, climate change and sea level rise.
Over the past time, the international and regional situation is expected to change complicatedly, vastly and unforeseeably. Viet Nam is also embarking on a new development period and a new era of international integration. Meanwhile, though Da Nang is facing with new opportunities and challenges, but the Master Plan for Economic Diplomacy for the period 2021-2025 is believed to pave the way for the city’s task performance in external affairs and international integration.
At the same time, it will bring into play and combine the economic diplomacy with cultural diplomacy together with political diplomacy so as to open, expand, and deepen the city’s cooperation relations with strategic partners; while pioneering in maintaining key markets and developing new markets in the region and the world, and attracting resources, contributing to the socio-economic development of the city.
Chairman of the People’s Committee of Da Nang City
