These are the assessments of Dr. Nguyen Minh Phong - Member of the Economic Advisory Council, Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front - on proposals for marine economic development in the coming period.
Sir, speaking to direct at the National Conference to study, study, thoroughly grasp and implement the Resolution of the 3rd Conference of the 14th Central Committee of the Party, General Secretary and President To Lam emphasized the goal that by 2045 Vietnam will become a rich country from the sea, developing sustainably from the sea. According to you, how does this message set the requirement to change the mindset of marine economic development compared to before?
- The highlight in the speech of General Secretary and President To Lam is that the marine economy must be associated with protecting the ecosystem, improving people's lives, maintaining sovereignty and developing the country. Vietnam is a maritime nation with a particularly important geostrategic position, with a sea area of more than 1 million square kilometers, about 3 times the land area, this is a great potential for exploiting the marine economic ecosystem.
Previously, we often looked at the sea mainly from the perspective of resources to exploit, focusing on traditional industries such as fishing, oil and gas exploitation, sea transport or tourism in the direction of taking advantage of natural advantages. This approach has made positive contributions to economic growth but also revealed limitations when resources gradually decline, environmental pressure increases and the added value created is not commensurate with the potential.
The message "rich from the sea, sustainable development from the sea" for the goal is no longer to exploit how many resources or achieve how large output, but to create higher value from the sea on the basis of science, technology, innovation and sustainable development. In the coming time, it is necessary to develop the marine economy in the direction of shifting from resource exploitation to value chain development. One fish or one ton of seafood, if only sold as raw materials, will bring very low value. But if deeply processed, branded, traceable, meeting international standards and put into modern distribution chains, the value can increase many times.
In particular, it is necessary to shift from single-sector development to marine economic ecosystem development. Marine economy is not just fishing or marine tourism but the connection of many industries, from seaports, logistics, shipbuilding industry, seafood processing, offshore renewable energy, high-tech marine farming to marine tourism... When these fields link together, large value chains will be formed, creating spillover effects on the entire economy.
In addition, marine economic development must be closely linked to protecting the ecosystem and improving people's lives. Coastal people must become the subject of the development process by creating stable jobs, increasing income and improving the quality of life.
Marine economic development must be linked to protecting the ecosystem and improving the lives of coastal people. According to you, what mechanisms and policies are needed to harmonize the goals of economic growth, protecting the marine environment and ensuring sustainable livelihoods for people?
- Sustainable marine economic development requires setting three goals: economic growth, environmental protection and improving people's lives in a unified entity. It is impossible to pursue growth at all costs or protect the environment in a way that restricts people's livelihoods.
First of all, it is necessary to complete marine space planning in the direction of integration, clearly defining areas for exploitation, marine farming, tourism, seaports, renewable energy and ecological conservation. Synchronous planning will limit conflicts between economic sectors, while ensuring reasonable and long-term resource exploitation. For coastal people, it is necessary to support sustainable livelihood transformation through vocational training, application of science and technology, cooperative development and creating conditions to participate more deeply in the value chain of the seafood, tourism and marine services industries.
To realize the goal of becoming a strong maritime nation by 2045, according to you, what key tasks should be focused on in the period from now to 2030 to create a foundation for long-term growth?
- The first priority is to improve institutions and marine space planning in a synchronous and modern direction, creating a transparent environment to attract investment in high-value marine economic sectors. The State needs to prioritize the development of strategic infrastructure, especially seaport systems, logistics centers, digital infrastructure and energy serving the marine economy. At the same time, there needs to be a strong enough mechanism to encourage businesses to invest in new fields such as high-tech marine farming, deep processing industry, offshore wind power, high-quality marine tourism and marine technology industries.
Regarding governance, it is necessary to change thinking towards unified and comprehensive management nationwide instead of being divided by administrative boundaries. At the same time, it is necessary to promote digital transformation, build a unified marine database, and apply artificial intelligence to monitor, analyze and update activities at sea in real time.
- Thank you!
