Previously, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Duong Trung Y, Vice President of HCMA had a meeting and working session with Director of the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House Ben Bland.

Assoc. Prof, Dr. Duong Trung Y chaired the meeting and working session

Welcoming Mr. Ben Bland and his associates to visit and work at the Academy, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Duong Trung Y introduced the functions and tasks of the Academy and said that the HCMA has had partnerships with more than 60 countries and nearly 200 different international partners. In particular, the UK, typically the British Embassy and the Civil service are very successful and effective cooperation partners. Thereby, it has made an important contribution to promoting the innovation of the curriculum framework, contents, skills and methods of training management; improving the capacity of scientific research, policy consulting, capacity to integrate and work in the international environment of the teaching and research staff of the Academy.

Following these successes, the seminar entitled "UK foreign policy towards the Asia-Pacific region and its impact on current bilateral relations" is a practical activity, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Duong Trung Y affirmed.

Expressing his honor to visit and work at the Academy, Director of the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House Ben Bland thanked Assoc. Prof. Dr. Duong Trung Y and the Academy staff for spending their time giving them a warm reception. He expressed his desire to cooperate with the Academy in the near future on issues of mutual concern.

** At the seminar, Mr. Ben Bland presented his research paper on UK policy and foreign strategy for the Asia-Pacific region and its impacts on bilateral relations in the region.

The board of chairmen chaired the seminar

In his speech, he focused on three main themes:

(i) The center of economic and global strategies is  shifting toward the East. The UK in particular and European countries in general are paying more and more attention to the Indo-Pacific region, with approaches from many different directions including priorities for the region, basic principles to discuss different viewpoints, etc.

(ii) The need to develop policies and strategies for the Indo-Pacific region becomes  effective and harmonized. It is the opportunity for partners to cooperate on the basis of diplomatic relations, geographical location and specialized topics. Sub-group collaboration initiatives like the G7 have the potential to become influential forums.

(iii) Understanding the factors that shape and promote support for trans-oceanic cooperation to highlight the priorities and foundations of multilateral and bilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

Speaking at the seminar, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thai Van Long, Deputy Director of the Institute of International Relations presented two main contents: i) Vietnam's perception of the political security situation in the Asia-Pacific region; ii) Vietnam's foreign policy in this region.

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr.Thai Van Long, turning to the 21st century, the world situation has changed rapidly and been unpredictable. There is a trend of shifting economic development to Asia, shifting "power" from the West to the East, leading to a change in the balance of forces among major countries. In the Asia-Pacific region, strategic competition among major countries to increase influence, improve position and prestige is increasingly fierce, leading countries to change their strategies to ensure their interests in this important area.