At the request of the Central Committee of Organization and Personnel (CCOP) of the Communist Party of Vietnam, GRIPS conducted its seventh ten-day training program for Vice-Ministerial Level Officials of the Vietnamese Government from October 16 to 25, 2017. GRIPS welcomed 21 trainees selected by the Program 165 Monitoring Office.

During the program, participants attended lectures given by: the program director, Senior Prof. Masahiro Horie (Director of the Executive Development Center for Global Leadership); GRIPS faculty members including Professor Emeritus Takashi Shiraishi, Vice-President Prof. Tetsushi Sonobe, Prof. Shigeru Morichi (Academic Fellow), Prof. Ikuo Shimomura, Visiting Professor Hisayoshi Hashimoto and Associate Professor. Yasuyuki Watanabe; as well as Prof. Tran Van Tho of Waseda University, Prof.Tomohiro Kinoshita of Ochanomizu University and Mr.Shinichi Hasegawa of Japan Association for Advancement of ILO.

The participants studied a wide range of subjects related to policy making enhancement and leadership, including: the strategic relationship between Japan and Vietnam; modernization and development strategy; transportation policy; SME policy; financial policy; labour laws and systems; civil service systems and personnel management; policy making, implementation and evaluation; administrative reform; and leadership. The Vietnamese participants actively asked questions and entered into discussion with the professors.

In addition to the lectures, several site visits and meetings in Tokyo, Fukui and Ishikawa Prefecture were organized with the support of the hosting organizations and facilities.

In Tokyo, participants visited the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. After a courtesy call on Mr. Wako, the Vice-Minister for Policy Coordination, they attended briefings entitled, “Evaluation and Inspection” and “Administrative Counselling” by the Administrative Evaluation Bureau, and “Administrative Complaint Review” by the Administrative Management Bureau. Actual cases were cited in the explanation, and the participants asked many questions about the ministry’s efforts.

The delegation took a three-day field trip to Fukui and Ishikawa Prefecture. Through the cooperation of the Fukui Prefectural University and AJEC(Around Japan Sea Economic Exchange Conference in Hokuriku) , the delegation visited Charmant Company, Fukuvi Chemical Industry, Seiren and Komatsu. They were warmly welcomed everywhere and had many beneficial experiences.

The networking event with business leaders was held in Kanazawa city and the members of the delegation gave presentations on industrial and FDI policy of Vietnam. They also visited Kanazawa Castle, Kenrokuen and Higashijaya. The participants had excellent opportunities to learn about Japan at a variety of sites. Through exchanging views with many Japanese executives and local people, participants seemed to have learnt the possibilities of cooperation between Vietnam and Japan.

On the final day of the training program, the participants reviewed the content of the intensive ten-day program and returned home with their certificates of course completion.