The Vietnamese dream

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that “history shows that whether we support or oppose globalisation, it remains an inevitable trend.”

Prime Minister Nguyen, speaking after his visit to the US, was the first leader from an ASEAN member state to meet President Trump, who withdrew the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) of which Vietnam would have been a major beneficiary. During Prime Minister Nguyen’s visit, both countries announced commercial deals worth more than $US8billion.

Nguyen spoke at a Nikkei Conference in Tokyo yesterday on the future of Asia. He stressed Vietnam’s commitment to free trade deals, including the TPP, and said that globalisation “is not merely an economic process but it also reflects the desires of humankind to reach further, pursue well-being and conquer challenges.” He added that Asia should not let the rise of protectionism deter them from strengthening ties within and outside the region.

“We often heard about the American dream or Chinese dream, but it appears that in the mass media, the Myanmar dream, Lao dream, Cambodian dream or Vietnamese dream are barely heard of,” Prime Minister Nguyen said. “I believe in the future, Asia will be a place where dreams of all countries, big and small, developed and developing, will all be heard of and respected.”