On July 6, 2023, at the Headquarters of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), international delegates of the Meeting of Heads of ASEAN Network of Public Service Training Institutes (PSTI) paid a courtesy visit to Mr. Vu Chien Thang, Vice Minister of Home Affairs, Viet Nam.
In the meeting, there were Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien, President of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), leaders and officials from units under MoHA (i.e. the Office of the Ministry, Department of Civil Servants – Public Employees, and Department of International Cooperation) as well as leaders and officials of NAPA’s units.
Vice Minister Vu Chien Thang speaking at the meeting
At the courtesy meeting, Vice Minister Vu Chien Thang expressed his delight in welcoming the delegation and expressed sincere gratitude to the PSTI heads within the ASEAN Network, as well as to the international delegates for taking the time to visit the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Vice Minister further extended warm greetings and well wishes from H.E. Pham Thi Thanh Tra, Minister of Home Affairs, to all members of the delegation.
On behalf of MoHA leaders, Vice Minister Vu Chien Thang wished the delegation a productive and meaningful working program during their time in Viet Nam. Vice Minister Vu Chien Thang hoped that this program would facilitate fruitful exchanges of experiences to enhance the quality of capacity building for public servants and achieve the national governance goals.
According to the Vice Minister, the government of Viet Nam has currently identified three pillars to focus development resources:
First, in terms of institutional building, efforts are being made to establish a rule of law state and improve the institutional system, including the institutional system on administration, public servants, and national governance.
Among them, priority is given to building institutions to establish an efficient, effective, and lean administration, an apparatus of the central government and local governments that ensures interconnectivity and efficiency.
The second pillar is infrastructure development, including sustainable development in transportation, ports, airports, etc. Viet Nam also places importance on digital infrastructure. Digital technology serves as a foundation for increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of management, governance, and development in various sectors.
Third, human resource development is also a pillar. The Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for strengthening the leadership and management capabilities of public servants to build a professional and lean workforce that serves the national development goals.
According to the Vice Minister, these three pillars are also in line with the development goals of the countries and of the Heads of ASEAN Civil Service – ACCSM. The pillars are also consistent with the objectives of this program, where NAPA, as the rotating Convenor, has provided a platform for exchange and discussion.
An overview of the courtesy meeting
The Ministry of Home Affairs highly values the implementation of the program, particularly the workshop on “Enhancing the leadership capacity in the context of globalization and digitalization”. The Vice Minister emphasized that this will be an opportunity for NAPA leaders and faculty to access experiences, information, and exchanges in areas of interest to the Ministry, serving the Ministry specifically and the Vietnamese government as a whole in implementing the set pillars. At the same time, this also demonstrates the commitment and responsibility of PSTI members and ACCSM members. The Ministry of Home Affairs will continue to promote exchanges with members of the PSTI Network and ACCSM to effectively pursue the goal of good national governance and the development of various sectors.
At the meeting, Vice Minister also expressed gratitude to organizations such as Civil Service College (Singapore), Chandler Institute of Governance, EROPA, and the Temasek Foundation Singapore for their effective collaboration with MoHA in implementing projects and initiatives. MoHA highly appreciates their resources and assistance and hopes to continue receiving support and sharing within the ASEAN community and PSTI Network to strengthen the national governance capacity and successfully achieve the goals of MoHA and the Vietnamese government.
According to Vice Minister Vu Chien Thang, the activities of the PSTI Network in Viet Nam are highly important and contribute significantly to the establishment of a good public governance foundation for the country. It promotes sharing and collaboration to achieve sustainable development, not only within the nation but also among ASEAN member states. The collaboration of the PSTI Network has shared various contents, including knowledge on public administration, skills, methods of governance, and capacity building for public leaders and managers, particularly in the context of international integration, sustainable development, and digitalization. All the PSTI activities are highly practical. The Vice Minister hopes that the discussions and exchanges will truly translate into the operation of training institutes, aiming to produce high-quality human resources and effectively accomplish the set objectives.
PSTI delegates attending the courtesy meeting
On behalf of the international delegation, Ms. Ong Toon Hui, Dean and CEO of the Civil Service College, Singapore, sincerely expressed gratitude for the warm reception of MoHA and Vice Minister Vu Chien Thang. Ms. Ong Toon Hui highly appreciated the Vice Minister’s sharing of the national development pillars outlined by the Vietnamese government and the directions and tasks carried out by MoHA to realize these development pillars.
Ms. Ong Toon Hui acknowledged and recognized the Vice Minister’s support and assistance to the PSTI Network, emphasizing that human resource development is a very important factor contributing to the country’s development process. This is the reason why the ASEAN Network of Public Service Training Institutes (PSTI) was proposed by Singapore in 2017. She was also delighted that Viet Nam has taken on the role of Convenor of the Network for this term.
Ms. Ong Toon Hui, Dean & CEO, Civil Service College, Singapore, speaking at the meeting.
Dr. Alex Brillantes Jr., Secretary-General, Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration (EROPA), speaking at the meeting
Mr. Kenneth Sim, Dean, Chandler Academy of Governance, speaking at the meeting
At the meeting, Dr. Chantha Onxayvieng, Director General, Public Administration Research and Training Institute (PARTI) under the Ministry of Home Affairs of Lao DPR, expressed sincere appreciation for the warm reception of the Vice Minister and MoHA. Dr. Chantha Onxayvieng also informed the Vice Minister that the Ministry of Home Affairs of Viet Nam and the Ministry of Home Affairs of Laos have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral cooperation in strengthening capabilities. She expresses great anticipation for the implementation of this MoU between the two Ministries at the high level and looks forward to signing a similar cooperation agreement at the lower level – between NAPA of Viet Nam and PARTI of Laos – in the field of capacity building to facilitate the sharing, exchange, and learning of experiences in enhancing capacity for public servants.
*The ASEAN Network of Public Service Training Institutes (PSTI) was established in 2018 to promote cooperation and exchanges among the PSTIs in learning and people development and to enhance their roles in supporting the transformation of their respective public services. The ASEAN PSTI Network aims to: (i) build a community of PSTI senior officials who are responsible for the learning and development of public officials; (ii) promote the exchange of good practices and lessons in building capabilities for the public service; and (iii) strengthen the learning and development competencies of PSTI professionals. The PSTI Network is comprised of representatives from the public service training institutes (PSTIs) in each ASEAN member country.
Vice Minister Vu Chien Thang presenting gifts to the Heads of Delegation of countries and international organizations
Vice Minister Vu Chien Thang with international delegates
Heads of ASEAN Network of Public Service Training Institutes (PSTI) speaking at the meeting:
Dr. Noor Maya Salleh, Director, Institut Perkhidmatan Awam, Prime Minister’s Office, Brunei Darussalam
Dr. Khin Mar Myo, Pro-rector, Civil Service Academy (Upper Myanmar), Union Civil Service Board, Myanmar
Dr. Chantha Onxayvieng, Director General, Public Administration Research and Training Institute (PARTI), Ministry of Home Affairs, Laos
Mr. Sung Vinntik, Vice President, Royal School of Administration, Cambodia
Dr. Roslan bin Mahmood, Deputy Director (Programme and Potential Assessment), National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN), Malaysia
Ms. Victoria F. Esber, Acting Assistant Commissioner, Philippine Civil Service Commission, Philippines
