Vietnam international economic integration was accelerated dynamically in various forms with a roadmap towards absorbing rules and standards of the global economy and market. Vietnam has gradually opened its economy and market by establishing bilateral relations in trade, investment and finance and by participating in multilateral mechanisms in those areas. Up to now, Vietnam has become member of all major international organizations; accessed, signed or joined talks on 15 free trade agreements (FTA) in total. When it comes to the number of signed FTAs, Vietnam ranks in the middle among ASEAN countries. In the years to come, the country will focus on realizing FTAs with such partners like Japan, the European Union, and major regional FTAs like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Regarding the degree of integration, Vietnam has integrated more deeply and widely in the ASEAN Economic Community than in any other frameworks.
The process of reform, open-door policy and international integration in Vietnam over the past three decades has brought about great achievements which contributed to heightening the position and enhancing the strength of the country.
However, the degree of international integration remains low in many fields while effectiveness of international integration is not high. Therefore, on January 7, 2016 the Prime Minister of Vietnam approved the Overall strategy for international integration through 2020, vision to 2030. Objectives and viewpoints of international integration in this strategy is stated as follows:
General objectives
The overall objectives of international integration through 2030 are to contribute to strengthening the country’s aggregate strength; take full advantage of favorable global conditions to soon turn Vietnam into a modern-oriented industrialized country, improve people’s living standards; maintain independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, and firmly defend the socialist Fatherland of Viet Nam; heighten the country’s position and prestige in the world.
Specific objectives
- Expand markets, take advantage of capital, technology, management knowledge; improve the competitiveness of the economy, businesses and products; foster the development of domestic industries, establish higher positions in the regional and international production and supply chain; actively make contributions to the process of transforming growth model and restructuring the economy; beef up industrialization and modernization, enhance internal strength, reduce dependence from the outside, and narrow development gap with ASEAN-6 countries. Regarding the degree of international integration, strive to catch up with ASEAN-6 countries by 2020, ASEAN-4 countries by 2025, and to become one of the top ASEAN countries in such areas that Vietnam has strengths and have a catch-up strategy, including improvement of business environment, by 2030, etc. In the short run, successfully realize the socio-economic development targets that have been figured out.
- Consolidate and maintain peaceful environment conducive to national development; heighten Vietnam position in the international arena and in relations with partners, especially major partners in the areas of defense, security and development; make more effective contributions to the protection of sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity; firmly maintain political security, social order and safety, protect the regime, the Party and people; fruitfully exploit external resources in order to gradually modernize armed forces, strengthen the capacity of ensuring national security and defense. By 2030, Viet Nam strives to become one of the key members that play central role at security and defense cooperation mechanisms in the region; enhance the bonds of security and stability between Vietnam and the region.
- Actively contribute to the development of Vietnamese people to meet the requirements of the process of industrialization, modernization and international integration. To absorb the world’s culture values; preserve, promote and diffuse Vietnamese culture values; improve the image and people of Vietnam so that by 2030 the image of the nation would become popular around the world and Vietnam new contributions to the global culture would be recognized; take full advantage of foreign resources to successfully realize strategic targets on labor, social security, education, training, healthcare, science and technology; attach special importance to improving workforce quality and science-technology capacity; create jobs and ensure rights of laborers and vulnerable groups; push social justice, guarantee social security and improve material and spiritual life of people.
Guiding viewpoints
To fully grasp and creatively employ the guiding viewpoints enshrined in the Resolution No. 22 of the Political Bureau on international integration, the Overall Strategy for international integration through 2030 needs be deployed in accordance with following viewpoints:
(1) Proactive and active international integration is the major strategic orientation in the implementation of strategies for socio-economic development and sectorial development. The Overall Strategy for international integration needs to be incorporated into the strategies on socio-economic development and sectorial development. Effectively exploit international integration to contribute to national construction and socialist Fatherland of Vietnam.
(2) Enhance the Party leadership and State management over the process of implementing the Overall Strategy for international integration. Uphold democracy, facilitate all organizations and individuals to actively and creatively engage in the integration process; effectively exploit potentials of the society, social strata, including overseas Vietnamese communities.
(3) The orientations of the Overall Strategy for international integration must be deployed in parallel with the process of developing and bringing into full play internal strength; closely combine and accelerate the process of enhancing aggregate strength, national competitiveness, and capacity of sectors and enterprises, connectivity among regions, renovation (especially growth model transformation and economic restructuring); speed up reform in all areas in order to raise the efficiency of international integration.
(4) Comprehensively deploy the Overall Strategy for international integration in all areas towards deepening this process to better support national development and Fatherland protection. Economic integration is the focal point; focus on improving business environment and institutional system; attach special importance to implementing the signed international commitments. Intensify combination of economic integration with integration in politics, defense, security and other fields.
(5) International integration is the process of both cooperation and struggle, consistent pursuit of national interests, preservation and promotion of the identity of the national culture and political regime; it is not the process of amassing alliances against the others.
(6) Consistently pursue the policy of “independence, self-reliance; diversification and multi-lateralization of international relations”; deeper international integration must go together with enhancing independence and self-reliance as well as inter-dependence between Vietnam and partners, especially the partners that are important for the development and protection of the Fatherland; avoid dependence in any domain or circumstances.