Closing of Component 1 of Strong Nations for Asia 2026: Sharing Vietnam’s 40 Years of Đổi Mới Experience with Asian Countries

The ceremony was co-chaired by Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien, President of APAG, and Mr. Ho Wei Jiang, Dean of CAG. Other CAG representatives included Mr. Hor Chor Kiat, Deputy Dean, and programme management and coordination staff. APAG was represented by Ms. Pham Thi Quynh Hoa, Acting Director of the Department of Science Management and International Cooperation; Ms. Le Thi Tuyet, Deputy Director of the Department; experts, lecturers and members of the Organising Committee. International programme participants also attended.

The Strong Nations for Asia Programme examines a fundamental question in national development: what makes a country strong and prosperous, and how can the foundations of that strength and prosperity be sustained and further developed across generations? In exploring this question, the programme considers the role of institutions, leadership quality, state governance capacity, the ability to mobilise resources, and the effective implementation of development objectives.

Component 1 was held in Vietnam from 19 to 23 October 2026, bringing together public-sector leaders and managers from eight countries: Bhutan, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. Under the theme ‘Public Governance Capacity in Government: Vision, Structure and Planning’, the component focused on strategic thinking, institutional quality and implementation capacity, including how governments identify priorities, make policy choices, allocate resources and prepare for future governance challenges. The sessions also examined the connections between governance effectiveness, productivity, science and technology, innovation and national competitiveness.

Selecting Vietnam as the host of the first component enabled participants to study first-hand the experience of a country that has undergone 40 years of Đổi Mới (Renovation), achieving significant progress in economic development, poverty reduction, living standards and international integration. Vietnam’s development trajectory illustrates the importance of policy choices, institutional reform and the mobilisation and effective use of resources at successive stages of development. At the same time, ongoing reforms of the state apparatus, the local government model, economic institutions, science, technology and innovation present new challenges for governance and implementation. The combination of accumulated development experience and current reform challenges provided a practical basis for participants to compare perspectives and identify lessons relevant to their respective national contexts.

During their stay in Vietnam, participants engaged systematically with core questions concerning national strength and prosperity through sessions delivered by leading Vietnamese and international experts and scholars. The curriculum addressed the role of institutions and the quality of national governance; long-term vision and development strategy; drivers of economic growth, productivity and competitiveness; human capital development, science, technology and innovation; and the demands placed on leadership, policymaking and implementation in a rapidly changing world. Vietnam’s experience was considered through the interrelationships among policy decisions, institutional reform, implementation capacity and development outcomes, and compared with the governance challenges participants face in their own countries.

Alongside classroom sessions and discussions, participants undertook field studies in Bac Ninh City, at the National Innovation Center (NIC), and at the Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group. In Bac Ninh, they examined the organisation and operation of the two-tier local government model, including changes in authority, responsibilities and approaches to serving citizens. Discussions at the NIC and Viettel focused on building an innovation ecosystem, strengthening technological capabilities and digital infrastructure, developing technological self-reliance, and the role of enterprises in enhancing national competitiveness. Combining academic sessions, policy dialogue and field-based learning enabled participants to better understand the links among development vision, institutional quality, implementation capacity and tangible national development outcomes.

Impressions and Lessons from Vietnam’s Development Experience

Speaking on behalf of the participants at the closing ceremony, Mr. Wangay Dorji, a Department Director at the Anti-Corruption Commission of the Kingdom of Bhutan, expressed his appreciation for the knowledge and experience gained during the week in Vietnam. He particularly valued the opportunity to engage directly with leaders and managers and to learn how Vietnamese public institutions and enterprises address development challenges. In his view, the value of the week lay not only in learning about Vietnam’s 40 years of Đổi Mới but also in observing how policies and reform priorities are put into practice.

What left a particularly strong impression on Mr. Wangay Dorji was the way local authorities in Vietnam listened to citizens and sought to understand what people genuinely needed, what they hoped for and which difficulties required attention. He explained that, before joining the programme, he had tended to view governance primarily in terms of the effectiveness and efficiency of the state apparatus. His discussions and first-hand experiences in Vietnam deepened his understanding that governance quality also depends on the ability to understand citizens’ needs and respond through practical solutions and public services. In his view, public trust in government is built through the way authorities listen, resolve problems and fulfil their responsibility to serve the people. His observations in Bac Ninh City, particularly in Bac Giang Ward, brought the meaning of people-centred governance into sharper focus—not simply as a principle discussed in lectures, but as something demonstrated in the day-to-day work of local government.

Study visits to the National Innovation Center and Viettel further broadened participants’ understanding of the conditions underpinning a country’s development capacity. At the NIC, they explored how Vietnam promotes innovation by connecting the state, enterprises, research institutions and international partners. These exchanges highlighted that the state’s role extends beyond issuing policies and providing funding to creating an enabling environment, facilitating collaboration and supporting development initiatives.

At Viettel, the company’s experience of learning, sustained investment, technological mastery and international expansion illustrated the contribution enterprises can make to national competitiveness, access to services and community development. Beyond its business and technological capabilities, discussions about its responsibilities to the country, efforts to extend service access and engagement with communities in overseas markets offered a broader perspective on the role of business in development. For countries working with limited resources, Viettel’s experience of gradually accumulating capabilities and reducing dependence on external technologies provided particularly relevant lessons.

From local government institutions to the NIC and Viettel, participants encountered distinct yet closely connected dimensions of Vietnam’s development: a state continuing to reform in order to serve citizens better; policies and institutions that encourage innovation; and enterprises working to strengthen technological capabilities, competitiveness and social contributions. A particular strength of the programme was the opportunity to see these relationships through concrete cases rather than study each element in isolation.

The participants’ representative also commended the programme’s combination of academic sessions, dialogue with institutions and organisations, and field-based learning, as well as opportunities for open exchanges with peers from different countries. He noted that Vietnam’s experience is most useful when considered in light of each country’s distinct historical, institutional and practical circumstances. Significantly, he suggested that subsequent components devote more attention to cases in which governance initiatives have not succeeded. Examining the causes of failure alongside successful experiences, he argued, would help participants better understand the conditions that determine policy effectiveness and the outcomes of reform.

These reflections and proposals demonstrated that the programme’s value lies not only in presenting Vietnam’s development experience, but also in encouraging substantive questions about leadership responsibility, the responsiveness of policy to social needs, and the conditions required for reform to deliver results.

Learning from Differences and Building Cooperation among Asian Countries

Mr. Ho Wei Jiang, Dean of CAG, highly commended the outcomes of Component 1 and APAG’s effective collaboration in organising the programme. He explained that Strong Nations for Asia was conceived as a space for public-sector leaders and managers from different countries to learn from one another, exchange diverse experiences and approaches in a spirit of openness and equality, and establish lasting professional relationships across Asia.

He expressed sincere appreciation to the leadership of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien and APAG for facilitating participants’ direct engagement with Vietnamese leaders, public institutions, organisations and enterprises. These engagements provided a deeper understanding of Vietnam’s transformation, its achievements and development aspirations, as well as the challenges the country continues to address.

According to Mr. Ho Wei Jiang, despite differences in history, institutions and development conditions, participating countries face many similar governance challenges and have much to learn from one another. He particularly valued participants’ active contributions, thoughtful questions and willingness to share experiences, which made the discussions substantive and allowed governance issues to be considered from multiple perspectives. He hoped that participants would leave Hanoi not only with new knowledge and ideas, but also with professional relationships and networks capable of providing mutual support over the longer term. He also acknowledged the careful preparation, coordination and support provided by APAG’s units and staff throughout the programme.

Governance Capacity Determines the Ability to Realise National Development Goals

In his concluding remarks and formal declaration closing Component 1, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien, President of APAG, congratulated participants on completing the component and thanked CAG, the experts, lecturers and partner institutions and organisations involved in its delivery.

The APAG President emphasised that, while Asian countries have different histories, institutions and development paths, they share the aspiration to build strong and prosperous nations and improve the well-being and happiness of their people. Natural resources, geography and initial advantages do not, in themselves, determine a country’s future. Long-term development depends on the capacity to build institutions, develop people, improve productivity, accumulate capabilities and continually renew approaches to governance. Even past achievements can become constraints if thinking and management practices fail to evolve in response to changing circumstances.

Turning to Vietnam, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien observed that 40 years of Đổi Mới had brought profound economic and social changes and expanded the country’s international integration. Nevertheless, achieving the goal of becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045 requires further improvements in the quality of growth, productivity, science and technology capabilities, innovation and national governance effectiveness. The decisive challenge is not simply to choose the right strategy, but to translate strategic choices into feasible policies, mobilise resources, assign clear responsibilities and sustain implementation through to results. The success of reform must be assessed through the actual performance of institutions and organisations and through improvements in development opportunities and people’s quality of life.

Drawing on the visits to Bac Ninh, the NIC and Viettel, the APAG President highlighted the relationship among the effectiveness of the state apparatus, the institutional environment and economic and technological capabilities. A well-functioning public administration enables resources to be used more effectively; supportive institutions encourage investment and innovation; and stronger technological and productive capabilities expand a country’s capacity to pursue new development goals.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien commended participants for their candid questions and contributions. He affirmed Vietnam’s willingness to share its accumulated experience, achievements and unresolved challenges, while also learning from the practices of other participating countries. On that basis, APAG looked forward to continuing its collaboration with CAG in subsequent components and developing further cooperation in leadership and management training, research on national governance, institutional reform and policy implementation capacity.

Concluding his address, the APAG President stated: ‘The aspiration to build a strong and prosperous nation must be nurtured across generations and translated into the decisions and concrete actions we take today. Our responsibility is to lay the foundations that will enable future generations to take the country further.’

Continuing Learning and Applying Lessons to Governance Practice

Following Component 1 in Vietnam, participants will undertake Component 2 online from 9 to 13 November 2026 and Component 3 in Singapore from 30 November to 4 December 2026. Subsequent learning will focus on leadership development, strategic thinking, policy implementation, performance management, building a culture of integrity and fostering innovation. A central element throughout the programme is the Governance Challenge Project: each participant selects a real issue from their professional environment, analyses its underlying causes, develops possible responses and assesses the conditions for implementation, with individual coaching between components. In this way, learning extends beyond exposure to international experience and is connected directly to the decisions and responsibilities participants face in their own work.

Component 1 of Strong Nations for Asia in Vietnam also holds significance in the context of the country’s efforts to advance its foreign policy and international integration, consistent with the guidance of General Secretary and State President To Lam on strengthening diplomacy’s pioneering role in building national development capacity, enhancing domestic strengths and consolidating strategic autonomy. By sharing its 40 years of Đổi Mới experience, development achievements and far-reaching reforms now under way, Vietnam demonstrates that it is not only a recipient of international knowledge and experience, but also an increasingly active contributor to regional exchanges on governance. Through direct dialogue, field studies and engagement among public-sector leaders and managers, the programme enables Vietnam’s experience to be examined from different perspectives while also drawing on the lessons and approaches of other countries, in a spirit of equality, respect for differences and shared development.

For APAG, co-organising the programme represents a further development in its approach to international cooperation: proactively sharing knowledge, presenting valuable lessons from Vietnam’s reform experience and connecting public-sector leaders and managers across the region. In doing so, the Academy helps bring Vietnam’s governance and development experience into learning programmes and international exchanges for public-sector leaders, expands its network of partners, strengthens research, education and professional training, and reinforces the contribution of international cooperation to national development priorities.

Commemorative Gift Exchange at the Ceremony