Prime Minister names five global grand challenges at Victoria University
VGP – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Monday named five grand challenges facing the global community in his speech at New Zealand's Victoria University on March 11.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh delivers a speech at Victoria University, March 11, 2024. Photo: VGP
These challenges are climate change, epidemics, national resource depletion, aging population, and poverty, Pham told lecturers and students there.
These challenges are non-traditional security issues that affect people in all countries and no single country can handle.
To deal with these challenges, it is necessary to adopt a global approach with comprehensive and inclusive solutions and to promote international solidarity and multilateralism.
On the hand, the world is transforming profoundly in a rapid, complex and unpredictable manner with rising uncertainties. Strategic competitition has become increasingly fierce, conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza Strip, Red Sea have evolved unpredictably while impacts of national disasters, epidemics and climate change have become increasingly huge.
With regard to current international relations, Prime Minister Pham pointed out six major contradictions: (i) war and peace, (ii) competition and cooperation, (iii) opening door/international integration and independence/self-reliance, (iv) solidarity/connectivity and separation/division, (v) development and lagging behind, and (vi) self-reliance and dependence.
Further more, the fourth industrial revolution, especially breakthrough technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, Internet of Things, cloud computing, etc., have transformed the world, forcing all to adapt to and change accordingly.
Prime Minister Pham said no where in the world that can we see more clearly the profound changes in the international situation than in Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific region.
This region has proved to be a driving force for global recovery and growth, a global economic hub (accounting for around 60 percent of global GDP, 46 percent of global trade, and 50 percent of maritime transport).
The region also boasts for abundant workforce, broad and deep economic connectivity with a network of new-generation and large-scale agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to which both Viet Nam and New Zealand are signatories; as well as its innovation and pioneering role in testing new technologies (it is estimated that the number of internet users would reach 1.84 billion by 2030).
Despite huge opportunities, the region also faces an array of challenges due to the concentration of many hotspots and strategic competition among powers. It is more likely that conflicts may occur and expand, affecting countries in the region and beyond.
Sharing Viet Nam's vision and aspiration, Pham said Viet Nam is a nation that most suffered pains and losses caused by wars since the World War II. In 2024, Viet Nam marks the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu victory (May 7, 1954-May 7, 2024). Given that Viet Nam deeply understands the values of peace, loves peace, and wihes to work with the international community to preserve peace, prevent wars and conflicts, and promote sustainable peace.
Peace and stability is the shared invaluable asset and the prerequisite for development to bring better life to people, leaving no one behind.
Viet Nam will strive to become a modern industrial country with relatively high income by 2030 when the country marks the 100th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, and a developed country with high income by 2045 when the country celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.
Viet Nam targets to build a socialist democracy, law-governed State, and socialist-oriented market economy in which people are at the center, the subject and the most important resource. The country will not trade off environment for mere growth.
In the time ahead, Prime Minister Pham said Viet Nam will renew traditional growth drivers such as investment, consumption, and export while promoting new growth drivers including science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, green transition, circular economy, sharing economy and emerging sectors like artificial intelligence and chip semiconductor chips.
The Southeast Asian country will continue focusing on macro-economic stabilization, restructuring the economy, ensuring social welfare, protecting the environment, promoting international integration to create an environment conducive to peace, stability and development.
Regarding Viet Nam-New Zealand relations, both sides will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2025. Prime Minister Pham affirmed that New Zealand is one of Viet Nam's partners of top importance and one of Viet Nam's strategic partners.
Both countries share many common perceptions and values for peace, stability and development and enjoy firm foundations thanks to close people-to-people connections.
Viet Nam always treasures and never forgets the affection and valuable support offered by New Zealand during the national development course.
Now, economic, trade and investment cooperation is one of the pillars and a major driving force of the bilateral ties. Defense and security cooperation has advanced remarkably.
Building on such achievements, it is necessary to continue promoting the strategic value of the Viet Nam-New Zealand strategic partnership to contribute to peace, stability and cooperation in Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific region.
The two countries should work together to promote multilateral cooperation and international solidarity and to contribute to the formulation of an open, transparent, inclusive regional architecture on the basis of international law, in which ASEAN plays a central role.
Pham called on both sides to support each other to further expand and diversify relations to strengthen the capacity of each country; to take a pioneering role in ensuring food security, green and clean agriculture development; and to enhance their capacity in coping with climate change and other global challenges.
Viet Nam stands ready to act as a bridge for New Zealand to foster relations with ASEAN, expects New Zealand to help Viet Nam reinforce relations with countries and organizations in the Pacific region, said Pham.
He underlined the need to create new momentums for the Viet Nam - New Zealand relationship through consolidating political and strategic trust and enhancing political and diplomatic cooperation to form a solid foundation for the bilateral ties.
Pham also urged the two countries to expand cooperation across the major pillars of the two countries' strategic partnership, spanning from economy-trade-investment, education and training, agriculture, defense and security, and people-to-people connections.
Pham called for achieving breakthroughs in such areas like science and technology, innovation, development of green economy/circular economy/sharing economy, technological transfer, emission reduction, and in new fronts such as artificial intelligence, semiconductor chips./.
