At the request of the Central Committee of Organization and Personnel (CCOP) of the Communist Party of Vietnam, GRIPS conducted ten-day training program for Vice-Ministerial Level Officials of the Vietnamese Government from October 22 to 31, 2018. GRIPS welcomed 20 trainees.

This program was organized with the support of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

During the program, participants attended lectures given by: the program director, Professor Emeritus. Masahiro Horie (Director of the Executive Development Center for Global Leadership); GRIPS faculty members including President Prof.Akihiko Tanaka, Vice-President Prof. Tetsushi Sonobe, Prof.Hirofumi Takada, Prof. Shigeru Morichi, Prof.Kenichi Ohno; as well as Mr.Kozo Yoshida, Commissioner of National Personnel Authority and Prof. Hikaru Kobayashi of Keio University.

Participants studied a wide range of subjects including; public administration and disciplines, administrative reform and good governance, ethics and anti-corruption measures, international relations under globalization; market mechanism and factors influencing mobilization and allocation of resources; local governance and intergovernmental relations, public investment and PPP; supporting SME and enhancing productivity; performance appraisal and salary system of public officers; environmental protection and sustainable development; 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 and Ishikawa Prefecture were organized with the support of the hosting organizations.　In Tokyo, participants visited the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. 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.

Participants also paid a courtesy call to the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen the ties between Vietnam and Japan.

The delegation took a three-day field trip to Ishikawa Prefecture with Prof.Toshihiro Kudo of GRIPS. Through the cooperation of the AJEC(Around Japan Sea Economic Exchange Conference in Hokuriku) , the delegation visited Nakamura-Tome Precision Industry and Komatsu Matere. They were warmly welcomed everywhere and had many beneficial experiences.

The networking event with business leaders was held in Kanazawa city and the leader of the delegation gave a presentation on current economy of Vietnam. They also visited Kanazawa Castle, Kenrokuen and Omicho market. 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 each participant reviewed the content of the intensive ten-day program and presented how they would reflect what they learned in their work after returning home.