From June 24-26, Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang led the Vietnamese delegation to attend the Vietnam Leadership Program (VLP) 2026 at Columbia University, New York, USA.
Speaking at the opening of the Program on the morning of August 24 (New York time, USA), Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang emphasized that Vietnam is entering a new strategic development stage with a long-term vision and strong aspiration to rise to realize two 100-year goals: to 2030 to become a developing country with modern industry, high average income and to 2045 to become a developed country with high income.
In the process of implementing those strategic goals, Vietnam highly values the companionship and sharing of international knowledge and experience from leading academic centers in the world such as Columbia University.
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang highly appreciated the content of policy exchange of the VLP 2026 Program with topics of practical significance for Vietnam's development requirements, and expressed his hope that in-depth discussion sessions will bring multi-dimensional perspectives, providing scientific and practical arguments.
Professor Nguyen Thi Lien Hang, Director of Weatherhead Institute for East Asian Studies, Columbia University, affirmed that the VLP 2026 Program is an important milestone, continuing the success of the Senior Leadership Program (VELP) that has been organized for nearly 2 decades. The Professor emphasized that the topics discussed at the program are all urgent issues that both the US and Vietnam are facing. On this occasion, Professor Lien Hang informed and shared the development plan of the Vietnam Research Center at Columbia University.
The VLP 2026 program focuses on 3 main contents on: (i) Assessing the prospects and notable developments of the world economy and major economies, major transformation trends and impacts on the Vietnamese economy; (ii) New growth drivers (science and technology, AI, digital finance, digital transformation, cloud computing...); and (iii) Recommending solutions to promote growth and build new development models in Vietnam. The program is expected to continue to be a solid knowledge bridge and a reputable policy consulting forum, contributing to strengthening mutual understanding, consolidating trust and opening up practical cooperation opportunities between Vietnam and the United States.
The VLP 2026 program will continue to take place on August 25 and 26 with thematic sessions on cloud computing and development of the financial services industry in Vietnam, global trade and supply chains, mobilizing resources for Vietnam's new development model.
