At a meeting with Professor Sarah Anne Soule, Rector of the Stanford Business School, Stanford University (USA) on September 21 (local time), General Secretary and President To Lam expressed concern about the priorities that Stanford is promoting, especially in the field of training, leadership capacity development and artificial intelligence (AI), emphasizing that in the context of AI rapid development, human core competencies are increasingly important for the competitiveness and development of each country.
General Secretary and President said that Vietnam is entering a new stage of development with the goal of rapid growth, sustainable development and becoming a high-income developed country by 2045.
Vietnam identifies science, technology, innovation, digital transformation and the development of high-quality human resources as key drivers of growth. In that process, Vietnam not only needs more resources but more importantly builds the capacity to create, absorb and transform knowledge, technology and innovation into productivity and competitiveness.
The General Secretary and President expressed his belief that connecting Vietnam's strengths with Stanford's knowledge, talents and global network will contribute to forming an effective cooperation model between knowledge and practice, between schools and businesses, between technology and people, creating new values and bringing practical benefits to both sides as well as to the region.
The General Secretary and President requested the two sides to focus on promoting cooperation in three priority areas.
The first is to develop leadership capacity for management staff, business leaders and suitable subjects, associated with modern management practices and international connections.
The second is to improve innovation capacity and master AI, in which Stanford supports sharing experiences and knowledge about AI and digital economy, while connecting Vietnam's innovation ecosystem with Stanford's network of experts, founders, investors and global network.
The third is to promote research and innovation cooperation programs, making Vietnam a partner to jointly innovate and create new values.
The General Secretary and President informed that Vietnam will take on the role of host of APEC Year 2027 and wished Stanford to participate as a knowledge partner, contributing to activities in science, technology, innovation, digital transformation and human resource development, thereby promoting long-term value connections and initiatives for the region.
The General Secretary and President also welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation (MOU) between the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Stanford Business School, as well as the plan for the Stanford Business School delegation to visit Vietnam in early 2027, saying that this is the starting point for larger cooperation initiatives with clear goals and results, meeting the needs and interests of both sides.
Professor Sarah Anne Soule fully agreed with the cooperation orientations stated by the General Secretary and President; believes that partnerships in the field of business education will create practical opportunities for developing leadership capacity, improving human resource capacity and strengthening mutual understanding between training institutions as well as between Vietnam and the US; affirmed her commitment to building cooperative relations on the basis of mutual respect, sharing values of excellent quality education and towards common goals; believes that the signing and implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Stanford Business School will contribute to creating substantial, meaningful and positive cooperation opportunities, serving the interests of both sides, and at the same time contribute to further strengthening the partnership between the US and Vietnam.
At the reception, in the presence of General Secretary and President To Lam, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung and Professor Sarah Anne Soule exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and Stanford Business School.
