“Spark” Initiative Supports Covid Prevention in Vietnam

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On September 2, Ambassador of Vietnam to the United States Ha Kim Ngoc attended the first meeting of the Vietnam Spark Board under the invitation of the Boston Global Forum.

The Boston Global Forum initiated the Vietnam Spark Plan to gather leaders, strategists, scholars and experts in health, technologies and economics to discuss and propose solutions to help Vietnam fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, recover and develop the economy and explore new opportunities for Vietnam post-Covid.

The meeting was attended by former governor of Massachusetts State Michael Dukakis, President of the Boston Global Forum and former Acting Secretary of Commerce Cameron Kerry, Co-chair of the United Nations Centennial Initiative Ramu Damodaran, Harvard Professor Thomas E. Patterson and other professors and scholars from Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Addressing the event, Ambassador Ha expressed his joy to attend a meeting joined by top experts from the U.S., which was held on the Independence Day of Vietnam.

Ambassador of Vietnam to the United States Ha Kim Ngoc praised and hoped that the Vietnam Spark Plan would propose innovative solutions to help Vietnam overcome current challenges and maintain strong development. Photo: Vietnam News Agency

The ambassador believed that the meeting was an event of great importance as it was held by a highly prestigious organization in Boston, where President Ho Chi Minh used to live and work on his journey to find ways to liberate Vietnam.

Ambassador Ha underlined that President Ho Chi Minh had a long-term vision about the Vietnam – U.S. relations and the relationship between the two countries are now conforming to this vision. The recent visit of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris to Vietnam marked a new milestone in the relations between Vietnam and the U.S.

The ambassador also noted that Covid continued to have complicated occurrences in Vietnam, leaving immense negative impacts on the socio-economy of Vietnam. The government of Vietnam had been implementing many prevention measures and actively seeking vaccination sources for the country. Ambassador Ha praised and hoped that the Vietnam Spark Plan would propose innovative solutions to help Vietnam overcome current challenges and maintain strong development.

Participants attending the first meeting of the Vietnam Spark Board. Photo: Vietnam Times

Former governor of Massachusetts State Dukakis expressed his concern and hope to help Vietnam improve the current situation. Dukakis believed that Covid prevention and economic development had reciprocal relationships, which were vital to support Vietnam to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic.

Professor John Quelch, former Senior Associate Dean at Harvard Business School Professor Harvard Business School and Dean of Miami Herbert Business School, believed that Vietnam should collaborate with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to develop a regional health strategy to secure active control of Covid vaccine sources, pay attention to small businesses and care about public mental health.

Other participants also put forward ideas on developing health and information infrastructure systems, providing remote mental health advice and elevating the role of women.

Nguyen Anh Tuan, former Editor-in-Chief of Vietnam Net and current director of the Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation, said the Vietnam Spark Plan would continue to hold follow-up discussions and expect to send the initiative’s report to Vietnam in late November 2021.

The meeting participants hope that the Vietnam Spark Plan initiative would become a forum for leaders, strategists and experts from the U.S., the G7 group of the seven largest advanced economies globally and Europe to propose ideas and solutions that contribute to the development of Vietnam and promote Vietnam’s contributions to building a peaceful, secured and prosperous world.

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