Speaking at the opening ceremony on August 24, Thang emphasised Vietnam is entering a new strategic development phase with a long-term vision and strong aspiration to realise its two centenary goals, becoming a developing country with modern industry and upper-middle income by 2030, and a high-income developed country by 2045.
Vietnam values international knowledge and experience from leading academic institutions such as Columbia University in pursuing these strategic goals, he stressed.
He highlighted the practical relevance of discussions at VLP 2026, which cover issues such as safe artificial intelligence (AI) governance, digital finance, cloud computing, banking modernisation, capital markets, and national technology strategies.
The Deputy PM expressed his hope that in-depth discussions would provide diverse perspectives and scientific and practical foundations for Vietnam’s policymaking, while helping translate bilateral cooperation between Vietnam and the US into concrete and substantive projects.
Prof. Nguyen Thi Lien Hang, Director of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University, described VLP 2026 as an important milestone following the success of the Vietnam Executive Leadership Programme (VELP), which has been held for nearly two decades.
She said the programme’s topics address pressing issues facing both Vietnam and the US, expressing her hope that the discussions would foster open and substantive exchanges, generate new development ideas for Vietnam and contribute to advancing its ties with the US.
Hang also shared plans to develop the Centre for Global Vietnam at Columbia University, which aims to establish a sustainable academic platform for research and cooperation in policy, leadership, culture, arts and internship programmes, contributing to deepening the Vietnam-US comprehensive strategic partnership.
VLP 2026 concentrates on assessing the outlook and major developments in the global economy and major economies, as well as major transformation trends and their impacts on Vietnam’s economy; exploring new growth drivers; and recommending solutions to boost growth and build a new development model for Vietnam.
It is expected to continue serving as a strong knowledge bridge and a trusted policy advisory forum, helping enhance mutual understanding, reinforce trust, and open up practical cooperation opportunities between Vietnam and the US.
During exchanges with experts from the university, Deputy PM Thang and members of the Vietnamese delegation shared key measures to achieve double-digit economic growth goal, strengthen economic self-reliance, and promote balanced, sustainable, and mutually beneficial trade relations with partners.
They also highlighted Vietnam’s orientations for renewing its development model, building a framework for safe AI development and developing digital financial infrastructure, while suggesting leading US scholars share policy advice and experience with Vietnam.
The programme will run until August 26, with symposiums focusing on cloud computing and the financial services sector in Vietnam, global trade and supply chains, and mobilisation of resources for Vietnam’s new development model./.
