The Academy of Public Administration and Governance and EROPA promote strategic cooperation on public governance, aiming for internationalization and academic standardization

Attending the working session, on the EROPA side, were: Dr. Alex Brillantes Jr., Secretary-General of EROPA, and his associates. On the APAG side, there were: leaders of units under and affiliated with the Academy; along with representatives of the Department of Scientific Management and International Cooperation.

Speaking at the reception, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien expressed his pleasure to welcome the Secretary-General of EROPA and the delegation to visit and work at the Academy; and at the same time emphasized that this is an important occasion for the two sides to discuss and promote practical cooperation contents in the coming time.

At the working session, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien discussed and proposed several key cooperation contents between the Academy and EROPA.

First, the two sides focused on discussing the coordination of organizing the annual International Public Governance Forum. Based on harmonizing interests and common goals, the Academy envisions the organization of the Forum to improve academic quality and prestige, gradually building the Forum into an influential one in the field of public governance domestically and regionally; while concurrently consolidating and expanding cooperative relations with EROPA and international partners. The Academy proposed taking the leading role in organizing, while EROPA and domestic and foreign partners participate in coordination.

Along with that, the two sides discussed and agreed on contents related to the theme, scale, delegate composition, and expected time of organization; and at the same time clarified the coordination mechanism, implementation plan, and responsibilities of each side.

Second, regarding promoting the internationalization roadmap and joining the Scopus system for the Journal of State Management (JSM), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien suggested that the two sides continue to concretize cooperation contents to improve publication quality, gradually meeting international standards. At the same time, he proposed organizing a thematic session on experiences in publishing scientific journals within the framework of the Forum, thereby contributing to standardizing the publication process and enhancing the academic quality of the Journal.

Third, the Academy proposed strengthening coordination in training, fostering, and enhancing the capacity of the teaching staff. The internationalization orientation of training and research activities will be promoted through enhancing academic exchanges and interactions with international scholars, thereby improving professional capacity, integration thinking, and adaptability in the context of globalization.

Exchanging views at the working session, Dr. Alex Brillantes Jr. respectfully thanked the thoughtful reception of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien and the collective leadership and lecturers of the Academy. The EROPA Secretary-General stated that in the previous working program with the Journal of State Management, the two sides had effective discussions, especially in developing a roadmap to integrate the Journal into the Scopus system, including improving the publication process, enhancing article quality, and expanding the international scholar network.

Regarding cooperation activities within the Forum's framework, the EROPA Secretary-General mentioned that he is actively connecting with international scholars, including professors from Europe, to participate in forums and seminars co-organized by both sides. At the same time, the two sides will jointly implement academic cooperation initiatives, including a plan to coordinate with international partners to develop and publish research works on Vietnam, contributing to spreading the image and public governance values of Vietnam to the world.

Delivering the concluding remarks of the working session, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien respectfully thanked the EROPA Secretary-General and the delegation for sharing many profound opinions with guiding value for the Academy's development process; and simultaneously affirmed that the Academy will proactively coordinate closely with EROPA and relevant partners to concretize the cooperation contents, ensuring effective and practical implementation in the coming time.

On the morning of the same day, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quoc Suu, Vice President of the Academy of Public Administration and Governance, chaired a working session between the EROPA Secretary-General and the Journal of State Management.

Attending the working session, on the EROPA side were: Prof. Dr. Alex Brillantes Jr., Secretary-General of EROPA; Ms. Kartherine Ederm, Senior Administrative Officer; Ms. Ainna Shariz Comia, Senior Researcher, EROPA Office Manager. On the Academy's side were: Dr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of State Management; MA. Pham Thi Quynh Hoa, Acting Director of the Department of Scientific Management and International Cooperation; Dr. Le Thi Hoa, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of State Management; along with officials and editors of the Journal and the Department of Scientific Management and International Cooperation.

Speaking at the working session, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quoc Suu emphasized the role of EROPA in promoting international cooperation and connecting administrative systems in the context of globalization. At the same time, he affirmed that in the process of innovation and integration, the Journal of State Management is identified as one of the important academic channels, contributing to spreading knowledge and international connections.

Under the direction of the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, the Academy of Public Administration and Governance is determined to build the JSM into a prestigious academic journal, aiming to join international indexing systems such as Scopus and ISI.

At the working session, representatives of the Journal reported generally on the publication status of the English JSM publication; and proposed that EROPA support connecting with international scholars to join the Editorial Board and act as scientific reviewers, as well as increasing citations of the Journal's research works.

Exchanging views at the working session, Prof. Dr. Alex Brillantes Jr. agreed with the proposals and shared the basic conditions for a journal to join the Scopus system; while committing to support the Journal in expanding international cooperation, enhancing academic quality, and developing sustainably.

Concluding the working session, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quoc Suu respectfully thanked the EROPA Secretary-General for his support and sharing; and affirmed that the working session contributed to providing a clearer orientation for the development and international integration process of the Journal of State Management in particular and the Academy in general.