IndiaIndia-Vietnam HRD CollaborationCollaborationThe strategic moves
Dr. Arup Barman, Reader (UIGC Post Doctoral Research Fellow and Recipient of GDNet and CIPPEC Scholarship for Policy Development) Deptt. Of Business Administration, Jawaharlal Nehru School of Management Assam University, Silchar-788011 Email:
[email protected]
Abstract
This paper describes the India- Vietnam human resource development collaboration in the light of the bilateral, multilateral, regional and sub-regional perspective of HRD collaboration as the issue of Macro-level HRD. The paper develops the research context on cross national HRD by the depiction of HRD collaboration between India and Vietnam from perspective of Indian HRD collaboration in response to ASEAN and Mekong-Ganga Cooperation context. An attempt has been made to examine the strategic move of India-Vietnam HRD collaboration. Key words: ASEAN, India-Vietnam, HRD collaboration, Educational Collaboration, Training, Capacity Building, Cross National HRD, Human Capital, Science and Technology, Macro-level HRD.
Acknowledgement: The author acknowledges the support and financial assistance for post doctoral fellowship (for the period 2009-2011) to carry out the research on Human Resource Development Collaboration between India and ASEAN Countries.
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Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1866798
IndiaIndia-Vietnam HRD CollaborationCollaborationThe strategic moves Introduction The solidarity between the Indian people and the Vietnamese people has been built up for thousand years. India-Vietnam relations have been exceptionally friendly and cordial since their foundations were laid by Prime Minister Nehru and President Ho Chi Minh more than 50 years ago. The traditionally close and cordial relations have their historical roots in the common struggle for liberation from foreign rule and the national struggle for independence. The first prime minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was one of the first visitors to Vietnam after its victory against the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. President Ho Chi Minh went to India in February 1958. President Rajendra Prasad visited Vietnam in 19591 There is wide convergence of interests existing in the economic sphere that holds promising prospects for an India-Vietnam economic, technological, educational partnership. Vietnam after more than half-a-century of war-ravaged economy has/had embarked on a major economic re-construction programme. However, in terms of absorption of technologies for its industrial development, it is realized that Vietnam does not require hi-tech inputs readily available from countries like Japan. It needs intermediate levels of technology. India is well placed to fill this slot and also assist in the development of industrial and economic infrastructure. ECONOMIC AND COMMERCIAL RELATIONS India and Vietnam have traditionally enjoyed strong and vibrant commercial relations. Bilateral trade continues to grow rapidly and touched US$ 2.5 billion in 2008. India has emerged as the 10th largest exporter to Vietnam in 2008 as exports touched US$ 2 billion registering a growth of 55% over 2007. Vietnam’s exports to India in 2008 registered an increase of 47% over 2007 and 1
India-Vietnam Relations; http://www.mea.gov.in/meaxpsite/foreignrelation/vietnam.pdf
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Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1866798
reached USD 389 million2. More than thirty Indian companies have set up Representative Offices in Vietnam. A large majority of these offices are located in Ho Chi Minh City. Bilateral trade between India-Vietnam has seen continuous growth during the past few years and India is now among Vietnam’s top 10 trading partners. Total trade between the two countries was $2.75 billion in 2010. During the first two months of 2011, total trade turnover reached $643.36 million, growing 9.5 percent vis-à-vis the corresponding period of 2010. The following table summarizes the quantum of India-Vietnam bilateral trade over the last few years: Quantum of India-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Year
Exports From India
Imports Into India
Total Trade (in USD million)
1995
61.5
10.4
71.9
1996
88.5
9.1
97.6
1997
84.8
13.2
98
1998
108.7
12.6
121.3
1999
122.8
17.0
139.8
2000
178.4
47.2
225.6
2001
229.2
44.9
274.1
2002
324.6
51.4
376.2
2003
456.9
32.3
489.2
2004
593.5
77.2
670.7
2005
598.8
97.7
696.5
2006
880.3
137.8
1018.1
2007
1357
179.7
1536.7
2008
2094.4
389
2483.3
Source: General Statistic Department, Government of Vietnam
2
http://www.indembassy.com.vn/tabid/248/default.aspx
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Major commodities exported from India to Vietnam are animal feed (accounting for almost onethirds of the total exports), machinery & equipment, pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical materials, ordinary metals, material for plastics, iron & steel, Leather & textile materials, Medicine ingredients, Cotton and pesticides. India’s imports from Vietnam are largely dominated by commodities such as coal, pepper, rubber and cinnamon. The items those figure as the prominent items from Vietnam to India - Computer hard wares, garments and textiles3.
The economic policies of Vietnam have been opening up tremendous opportunities for Indian investment, both for tapping the growing domestic and ASEAN market and for exports to other countries. The tremendous political goodwill for India is an added incentive for Indian companies to invest in Vietnam. Bilateral trade has been growing rapidly from 72 million USD (1995) to over 1,018 million USD in 2006, with an average growth rate of 20% per annum. The main items of Indian exports to Vietnam, with their percentage share during 2006 are: Animal feed ingredients (27.84%), Ordinary metals (8.1%), Plastic material (7.40%), pharmaceuticals (6.95%), machinery and equipment (5.5%), steel (5.04%), cotton (4.24%), medical ingredients (3.5%), chemical materials (3.23%), leather & textile material (3.16%), and pesticides (2.92%). The major items of Vietnam’s export to India are coal (14.69%), pepper (7.96%), tea (5.94%),
3
http://www.indembassy.com.vn/tabid/248/default.aspx 4
coffee (5.61%), cinnamon (5.14%), rubber (5.01%), computer hardware and electronic goods (4.98%). India’s FDI to Vietnam was 580 million USD in 2006. There are significant changes in Indian direct investment to Vietnam in 2007 with Essar Group signing an MOU in January 2007 for setting up a hot rolling steel mill worth 527 million USD in Ba Ria – Vung Tau and Tata Steel signing an MOU to set up a steel complex in Thach Khe-Ha Tinh with estimated investment of US$ 3.5 billion. These projects make India among top-10 investors in Vietnam and Vietnam as the biggest receiver of Indian direct investment in ASEAN. So far, many other big groups from India have expressed their interest to invest in Vietnam. Since 1976, India has extended 14 Lines of Credit totaling Rs.361 crores to Vietnam. A line of credit agreement for US$45 million was signed in January 2008 between EXIM Bank of India and Finance Ministry of Vietnam for construction of a Hydropower plant. Vietnam is not that backward nation that requires development from scratch. India must encourage and induce its private sector to invest in the following fields in Vietnam: * Automobiles * Two Wheelers * Telecommunications * Information Technology * Agro-tech Industries and fertiliser production * Pharmaceuticals * Electrical consumer appliances * Railway construction and supply of engines/coaches * Civil aviation Vietnam is strongly placed to get help from India in the energy sector both in terms of oil supplies and further joint prospecting for oil and gas. India has adequate experience in oil and gas prospecting, especially in offshore deposits. In fact India could go in for special concessions in this field as it has reached with Iraq. India's relations with Vietnam are marked by growing economic and commercial engagement, especially in recent years. The two-way trade grew more than ten times since 2000 to reach USD 2.75 billion in the year 2010 (Indian exports were USD 1.76 billion while Vietnam's exports were 991 million). India figures among the ten largest exporters to Vietnam. With the signing of the India-ASEAN FTA on Trade in Goods, bilateral trade with Vietnam is 5
poised to grow faster. Vietnam has ratified the India-ASEAN FTA in Goods with effect from 1st June 2010. "Vietnam is a very important pillar of India’s Look East Policy, signifying cooperation between the two dynamic and progressive economies of Asia" says Lok Sabha Speaker4 . Vietnam continues to be an attractive investment destination for Indian companies. Several Indian companies in sectors as diverse as oil and gas, steel, minerals, tea, coffee, sugar and food processing have invested in Vietnam. From the Indian side, OVL, Essar Exploration and Production Ltd, Nagarjuna Ltd, Venkateswara Hatcheries, Philips Carbon and McLeod Russell are some of the major inventors. Tata Steel plans to invest more than USD 4.5 billion in a steel plant in Vietnam. State of Human Capital & Labour Vietnam does have a large pool of comparatively well educated labour at its disposal (high literacy rates being a positive legacy of the Communist era), a shortage of skilled workers – particularly in the South Vietnam5 – remains a problem. This is a particular obstacle for Vietnam; it is serious about its stated intention to become a credible challenger to India/China in the provision of high-tech/IT services. In the Education Development Strategy from 2001 to 2010, the goals of higher education in Vietnam have been clearly set out as “to provide high quality human resources in line with the socio-economic structure of the industrialization and modernization of the nation; enhance the competitiveness in fair co-operation for Vietnam in its international economic integration; to facilitate the expansion of post secondary education through diversification of educational programs on the basis of a path-way system that is suitable for the structure of development, careers and employment, local and regional human resource needs and the training capacities of education institutions; to increase the appropriateness of the training to the employment needs of the society, the ability to create jobs for oneself and for others”. To fetch the strategic move HRD resources in Vietnam is less In the academic years of 2002-2003, there are 111 universities and 119 colleges in the higher education system; of which 15 universities are private, 2 semi-public, and 2 private 4
Consulate General of India, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; 14 May 2011; http://speakerloksabha.nic.in/pressrelease/PressreleaseDetails.asp?PressId=911&button=Edit
5
Apistsareekul. Kiam; Kollareddy. Pallavi, Safia. Ladak, and James. Mason (2007), VIETNAM -The “next” miracle of Southeast Asia; INSEAD
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colleges. The total number of students reaches 1,020,670 and 64% of who are full-time students, 36% part-time. The student rate is 124.7 per 10 thousand. The total number of lecturers are 32,205, of whom 5,476 lecturers have PhD degrees (17%), 9,543 have Master degrees (29.6%), and 17,186 have bachelor''''s degrees (53.4%). Only 324 of these lecturers have been awarded with the title of professors (1%) and 1,124 associate professors (3.49%)6. HRDC as a Potential Area India-Vietnam Co-operation Human resources development is another potential area of India-Vietnam cooperation. During the past few years India has undergone a rapid technological revolution and established itself as a knowledge economy. Vietnam needs technological assistance for its socioeconomic development and therefore, India is an appropriate partner for Vietnam. In this regard both countries can work together in the key areas of science and technology and education and cultural exchanges. In the field of science and technology cooperation, India and Vietnam signed many agreements and projects since 19767. Both have identified the particular areas for cooperation such as biotechnology in agriculture and healthcare, technology for new materials, IT and electronics, super-computing, nuclear energy for peaceful uses, science and technology policy making and administration, remote sensing, non-traditional energy and so on. However, more efforts are needed to promote India Vietnam cooperation in this field of human resources development as is evident in the Vietnam-India Action Plan for 2007-2009 concluded in February 2007 between Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem and Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee8. India-Vietnam HRDC- The Regional and Sub-regional Integration Perspective A.
HRDC from ASEAN Perspectives-Vietnam’s importance in South East Asia has had been
suddenly increasing strategically as well as economically. Vietnam seems well poised to emerge as the new economic hub of Asia Pacific luring Japanese and other investors. India should exploit its traditional relations with Vietnam to enlarge its economic ties. A militarily strong Vietnam, necessarily has to be an economically strong nation. India is well placed to assist Vietnam in both fields. Both nations could work out mutually beneficial incentives to expand
6
7
Higher Education in Vietnam; http://en.moet.gov.vn/?page=6.7&view=4404 IPCS special Report; No 40, April 2007
8 Yogendra Singh,India-Vietnam Relations: THE ROAD AHEAD, IPCS Special Report;
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trade and commerce and economic cooperation. In recent years, India's thrust under the 'Look East' policy combined with Vietnam's growing engagement within the region and with India has paid rich dividends. The two countries celebrated 35 years of their diplomatic relations in 2007. In recent times, political contacts have strengthened as reflected in several high-level visits by leaders from both sides. Trade and economic linkages continue to grow. Vietnam is an important regional partner in South East Asia. India and Vietnam closely cooperate in various regional forums such as ASEAN, East Asia Summit, Mekong Ganga Cooperation, Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) besides UN and WTO. Vietnam treats India with strategic importance". India and Vietnam both enjoy a convergence of strategic interests which could provide the basis for building and reinforcing strategic cooperation between the two countries. Vietnam is emerging as an important trading partner of India. Both India and Vietnam are among the fastest growing economies in Asia. They also agreed to work both bilaterally and with other relevant countries in the ASEAN for improving land transportation linkages between the two countries. B. HRDC from MGC Perspective
The Mekong Ganga Cooperation which was launched on Nov 10, 2000 at Vientiane, capital of Laos, comprising India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam aims to focus on operation in tourism, culture, education and communication. The scope could be expanded to trade and industry and economic cooperation. Vietnam’s importance in South East Asia has suddenly increased strategically as well as economically. Vietnam seems well poised to emerge as the new economic hub of Asia Pacific luring Japanese and other investors. India should exploit its traditional relations with Vietnam to enlarge its economic ties. A militarily strong Vietnam, necessarily had to be an economically strong nation. India is well placed to assist Vietnam in both fields. Both nations could work out mutually beneficial incentives to expand trade and commerce and economic cooperation9. The two leaders agreed to work together to improve connectivity and people-to-people contacts between their countries through enhanced tourism, aviation and shipping links.
9
Kapila. Subhash; India-Vietnam Strategic Partnership: The Convergence of Interests; http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers2%5Cpaper177.htm
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The GMS Human Resource Development Strategic Framework and Action Plan for 2009-2012 endorsed by the 15th GMS Ministerial Conference is now being implemented. Various activities in the action plan which address a broad range of concerns in education and skills development, labor and migration, health, and social development are moving forward with funding and technical support from ADB and other development partners. Initiatives underway will address communicable disease control, cross-cutting social development concerns related to gender, ethnic minorities, HIV/AIDS, and anti-human trafficking in coordination with development partners. Additional support has been secured for Phase IV of the Phnom Penh Plan for Development Management that will enable continued quality capacity development programs as well as innovative research programs. The conference also appreciated in adopting an ecoregional landscape planning approach in which the strategic environmental assessment, biodiversity conservation corridors initiative and environmental performance assessment approaches were tested and applied to improve environmental management capacities in the GMS and achieve sub-regional and national poverty reduction, rural development and biodiversity conservation targets under the GMS Core Environment Program- Biodiversity Conservation Corridor Initiative10. It endorsed the strategic directions -- biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation; climate change; capacity building; and rural environmental management. They also encourage the concerned parties to undertake further consultations and work towards finalizing documents relating to support GMS countries to capture emerging opportunities to strengthen environmental safeguards, protect natural resources, respond to climate change adaptation needs, and improve financial returns to environmentally sound investments in the sub-region. India and Mekong region countries will promote cooperation between public and private sectors that contributes to the effective implementation of cooperation projects in various areas, such as infrastructure improvement, natural resources development and the improvement of logistics networks. They will provide more opportunities for coordination between the public and private sectors. They will continue to make efforts for the smooth implementation of existing economic agreements such as Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and bilateral 10 Tokyo Declaration of the First Meeting between the Heads of the Governments of Japan and the Mekong region countries -- Establishment of a New Partnership for the Common Flourishing Future -November 7, 2009; at http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asiapaci/mekong/summit0911/declaration.html
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investment agreements. Thus, it recognize that there are distinguished training and academic institutions in the Mekong region countries that can serve as training venues for the people in the Mekong region countries and will cooperate with these institutions11. c. India’s Assistance in Capacity Building India has set up the Vietnam-India Entrepreneurship Development Centre and VietnamIndia Center for English Language Training as part of its support to the Initiative for ASEAN Integration providing technical assistance to the Government of Vietnam. The Lao-India Centre for English Language Training (LICELT) at the National University of Laos in Vientiane was set under the India-ASEAN Cooperation framework. A similar center in Vietnam also established as the sign for co-operation with Vietnam. The language ability of India and the advances made in India in IT sector, in the high technology areas are attributed by the international community to the high standards of English language and innovative skills available in India. India has always taken the lead in sharing its knowledge-base and expertise with other developing countries both for capacity building as well as human resource development on various platforms such as India-ASEAN Cooperation, Mekong-Ganga Cooperation and other forms of South-South Cooperation12. English language education is growingly popular in all the Asian countries including Lao PDR and it is with this objective to help Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam for capacity building in English language training, Government of India is setting up Centres for English Language Training are the landmark of co-operation between India and Vietnam. India’s-Vietnam’s HRDC from Bilateral Perspective Training of foreign national in India is an important component of the Indian bilateral cooperation programmes. The training programme covered under the ITEC and SCAAP aim at development of Human resources and Institutional Infrastructure. The ITEC program started in 1964 as an assistance program to developing countries. The program aims to share India’s socioeconomic and technical achievements with other developing countries. The program helps these nations in building up skilled manpower, augmenting financial resources and transferring technology. The program consists of training courses, consultancy services and feasibility
11
Ibid19
12Press
Rel;ease; http://www.indemblao.nic.in/announcements/licelt.pdf 10
studies, study tours, donation of technical equipment and aid for disaster relief. Both the ITEC and SCAAP programmes are fully funded by the Government of India on a grant basis. Every year more than 4000 foreign nationals from more than 90 countries are trained in leading Indian Institutions under the two programmes. The ITEC training program extends too many developing countries with 5,000 scholarships having been granted. These schools conduct over 200 short, medium and long- term courses every year. An Indo-Vietnam Joint Workshop on Science, Technology and Innovation Policies was held at Hanoi, Vietnam. Two CSIR Scientists attended the workshop. The objective of the workshop was to discuss emerging issues on Science & Technology and Innovation Policies with a view to enhancing globalization and trade liberalization. In addition exchange visits from both sides were made under the ongoing projects under the intergovernmental programme13. India has always considered it a privilege to participate in Vietnam's development process. Our cooperation in diverse areas such as agriculture, education, science and technology, has been quite satisfactory. India offers her fullest cooperation and is ready to extend whatever assistance is required. In this spirit, our Government decided to donate a super computer with the aim of sharing advanced science and technology with Vietnam14.
Areas of HRDC under ITEC Education, Trainings, and Scholarship: India ITEC program is a central instrument for promulgate the HRD collaboration with the partner countries. In case of India-Vietnam HRD collaboration, under the ITEC scheme, trainees are provided with airfare, tuition fee, accommodation and living allowance by the Government of India. This scheme is administered by the Ministry of External Affairs, India. Vietnam has been allotted more than 75 slots under the ITEC scheme15. The subjects covered under ITEC program include Information Technology; English Language; Management; Journalism; Banking; Remote Sensing; Educational Planning 13
International S&T Affairs Directorate (ISTAD) at http://www.csir.res.in/External/Heads/aboutcsir/Annual_report/2003-2004/affairs.htm 14
Speech by the president of India, Smt. Prativbha Devisingh Patil, at the Banquet Hosted by H.E. NGuyen Minh Triet, The president of socialist republic of Vietnam; Hanoi, Vietnam, 27th November 2008 ; http://presidentofindia.nic.in/sp271108.html 15
http://www.indembassy.com.vn/tabid/237/default.aspx
11
and Administration; Rural Development; Teachers Training; Labour Administration; Pharmaceutical Education and Research; Tool Design; Poultry Management; Fluid Control; Statistical Research; Small Industry; Material Management; Textile Research; Water Resource Development etc. From the Vietnamese side, the Ministry of Education and Training is the nodal agency for this programme. In the area of education, the Indian government provides about a 130 scholarships every year to Vietnamese students and researchers for studying in Indian educational institutes. India also has plans to set up English language teaching centres in Da Nang province in central Vietnam. Education and training, India annually provides about 100 scholarships both short and long-term. During 2006-2007, India provided 70 ITEC scholarships to Vietnam under ITEC Assistance and programmes. Annually, India offers 75 ITEC scholarships to southern Vietnam. Since 1996, there have been a total of 36216 scholarship were offered to Vietnam by ITEC program of India. The most popular courses that Vietnamese scholars were interested in - information technology, english language, financial management, agricultural practices, environmental technology and biotechnology. About 10 scholarships annually for long-term degree courses in Indian history, economics, and politics are granted to provinces and cities in the south of Vietnam.
India-Vietnam Academic and Cultural Co-operation More than 500 Vietnamese are presently studying in India on a self-financing basis. In addition to the Vietnamese students studying on self-financing basis, India also provides to Vietnam every year around 30 scholarships for graduate and post-graduate studies and 110 scholarships for short-term training courses. These applications are generally processed through Ministry of Education & Training or Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam (for MGCSS).17 International Students in Indian Universities Countries Thailand Malaysia Vietnam Singapore
2004-05 293 108 210 76
2005-06 334 204 254 98
2006-07 361 268 313 75
16
Saigon Times, India grants scholarships and books to Vietnam, on Sep 28, 2010; http://www.dztimes.net/post/life-style/india-grants-scholarships-and-books-to-vietnam.aspx
17
Studying in India for overseas students at URL; http://www.indembassy.com.vn/tabid/83/default.aspx
12
2007-08 440 310 229 122
Source: url:http://www.aiuweb.org
India also provides 20 scholarships under Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) and 10 scholarships to Vietnam annually under the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) scheme. Vietnam has also been utilizing 20 scholarships under Cultural Exchange (CEP) Programme and since 2006, 10 slots for undergraduate courses funded by Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) programme18. More and more self-financed Vietnamese students go to India these days because of reasonable fees and English teaching advantage. The number amounts to around 100 every year. HRD Collaboration for ICT Development The post war economy of Vietnam has been realizing the need for Increased expenditures on R&D lead, in general, to increases in knowledge and therefore to increases in human capital for economic competition. Along with enhanced human capital Vietnam has been realizing the need for increased speeds of diffusion of electronic networking and therefore of existing knowledge; the diffusion of the benefits of the ICT sector (and more generally of R&D and networking) beyond the ICT sector itself to the rest of the Economy19. Under the framework of India-Vietnam protocol on
IT, Vietnam receives Indian assistance for training its manpower in the area of IT and IT enabled services. An agreement on bilateral cooperation in Science & Technology was first concluded in 1976, and renewed in 1996. A Joint Committee on Science & Technology was established in 1997. India-Vietnam Protocol on Information Technology was signed in 1999. The Government of India, through its two grants, is helping Vietnam in setting up of an Advanced Resources Centre in IT in Hanoi and also assisting in human resources development in IT in the country20. In 2000, Vietnamese Foreign Minister, Nguyen Dy Nien, acknowledged Indian government’s assistance in training Vietnamese manpower. Indian assistance has definitely contributed
18
India-Vietnam Relations; http://www.mea.gov.in/meaxpsite/foreignrelation/vietnam.pdf
19
‘We look at the potential for expanding the knowledge base through R&D expenditures, at increasing basic human skills and competencies through education and health programs, at increasing the supply of human capital through migration, and at increasing the diffusion of knowledge, skills, and competencies through electronic networking. In general, our early exploration suggests that greatest near-term leverage may lie with spreading the benefits of electronic networking throughout the economy, that considerable longer-term leverage lies with education and especially R&D, and that migration has mixed impact in the shorter and longer-term’. Hughes. Barry B. (2007), Enhancing Human Capital: Analysis Using an Integrated Model; RAND Europe and the University of Denver, Denver, Colorado 80208, Email:
[email protected]
20
Department of Information Technology; Ministry of Information Technc ology; Govt of India; http://www.mit.gov.in/content/asia
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immensely to the cause of Vietnam’s renewal program (Doi Moi) and has helped it in modernization, industrialization, and active international integration. • Memorandum of Understandings for ICT Development – India-Vietnam signed in November 2003 between the DIT and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Government of Vietnam for Advance Resource Centre in IT. •
Supporting HRD for Software Industry in Vietnam - The Department of Information Technology had supported a programme for human resource development for software industry in Vietnam through a grant-in-aid. The C-DAC, Noida provided long term and short-term training courses in specialized and advanced computer domain in India for the Vietnamese students under this program. Software professionals from six institutes of Vietnam were trained. Necessary equipment support was also provided to these institutes. 75 (64 Male and 11 Female) students in specialized short term courses and 13 (9 Male and 4 Female) students under the Master Program have been trained since 2005. During these programs, Vietnamese students made a friendly relationship and exchanged their cultures, games and entertainments with Indian students, which helped in strengthening a cordial relation between them.
•
Supercomputing Facility in Vietnam - India has agreed to create High Performance Computing (HPC) Centre at Hanoi University and Technology (HUT) of Vietnam. An assessment study was carried out in February 2008, which is under consideration of MEA.
•
Private Sector Participation- In the field of IT training, the private players- NIIT, APTECH and Tata Infotech have so far opened more than 50 franchised centers spread all across Vietnam.
Developments of ICT is a strategic tools for Vietnam (Nha Trang, 2009) 21 and the, Strategy on ICT Development in Vietnam by 2010 and Vision for 2020 - Dept. of Organization & Human Resources (Nguyen Van Phuong, 2009)22 report explains. The study made by FICCI
21
Nha Trang, 2009, Subregional Telecommunication Ministerial Forum for Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam, VietNam, 11-12 December 2009 22
Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong, 2009, Strategy on ICT Development in Vietnam by 2010 and Vision for 2020 - Dept. of Organization & Human Resources, MIC of Viet Nam
14
points out that india’s ICT product can be strategic item for export to Vietnam23. The FICCI study pointed out that project exports too have great export potential. The key areas where India exports could make a dent in the Vietnamese market include information technology (IT) and IT training, agro and food processing, railways, energy and alternate energy, veterinary manufacturing plant, tea processing machinery, textile machinery, and power transmission and generation24.
The Strategic Move for HRD in Vietnam The National strategy for international cooperation and integration in the front of human resource development are recent initiatives.Exhibit-1 The Vietnam’s ministry’s fifth draft on human The Internationalization HighertoEducation in Vietnam: Policiesbudget and Institutional at resources development of looks the capital fromNational the state as wellImplementation as from foreign Vietnam National University
investors and domestic people, andhigher businesses. Businesses all economic Developing an international integrationorganisations strategy for the country‘s education system within the contextfrom of the Vietnamese-American Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS);
sectors be encouraged to increase direct investment in human resources training will Expanding cooperation with foreign countries and institutions to establish high-tech centers in higher education institutionstoandbecome able to carrya out joint scientific research projects;
majorforce in avocational training to inmeet their requirements. theanddraft, theusestate also Launching strategy on teaching and learning foreign languages, especially in English. Under And, selecting putting into advanced and
modern training programs, curricula and materials, which are being used in foreign universities and which are suitable for Vietnam's encourages economic groups and big corporations to set up or contribute capital to training development needs in the areas of natural science, engineering, technology and economic management; Improving the quality of research and training programs with specific features in order to attract foreign researchers and students, establishments, including universities, colleges andnational vocational training schools. Businesses
while maintaining national identity and traditional values; relations by exchanging establishments lecturers and students, joint and research programs with foreign universities continuing to spendingDeveloping on building training andtraining regular personnel training will beandexempted send teaching staff and students overseas to study in key areas using state funding; Developing mechanisms policies to facilitate and encourage study abroad forin self financed students; industrial and export from corporate incomeand tax. Training establishments economic, Ratifying the "Regional Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees in Higher education in Asia and the Pacific", and processing zones same preferential policies like other businesses in the zones in signing similarwill bilateralenjoy treaties the and establishing organizations for the promotion of related activities; Establishing clear and favorable principles and procedures to encourage foreign entities with experience, potential and high qualifications to additionalestablish to incentives forwiththe training sector. partners The inministry also proposed education institutions 100%education foreign capital orand joint ventures with Vietnamese higher education, vocational training and distance education, offering courses at regional and international level; corporate income taxcontrol reduction and exemption nineprovided yearsbyfor projects to build education and Exercising quality in training services (including on-line in programs) foreign training institutions; Participating in and building up relationships with quality accreditation organizations in the region and in the world to protect domestic 25 training establishments . learners; Internationalization, Taking every opportunity to attract qualified foreign countriesofto higher provide training and research as a highly strategy forexperts the from development education andsupport, HRD,while is formulating systematic policies to attract overseas Vietnamese and Vietnamese citizens trained abroad to come back and make contributions nation-building; quite a new concept in Vietnam. The term has been used in several policy documents at both Participating in the international human resource training market, moving towards the export of skilled labor.
national and institutional level, as well as in academic papers. However, Vietnamese officials To this end, the Strategy for Education Development 2001-2010 and the Vietnam Higher Education
23
Huge scope for Indian exports to Vietnam: Study, at URL http://www.merinews.com/article/huge-scope-for-indian-exports-tovietnam-study/137600.shtml 24
Ibid8
25 Vietnam needs $104.6 billion for HR development; http://en.baomoi.com/Info/Vietnam-needs-1046-billion-for-HRdevelopment/8/152746.s
15
Renovation Agenda 2006-2020 outline policy has been targeting to achieve various targets(in exhibit-1). Generally, the internationalization of higher education in Vietnam is interpreted as an enhancement of international and regional cooperation and integration in the field of education. Thus, integration aspect of Higher education and HRD calls for human resource development collaboration from the cross national fronts of neighboring countries. This process is considered indispensable to improving the higher education system in Vietnam26.
Future of India-Vietnam HRDC To speak about India’s collaborative future for HRD in Vietnam the document ‘Plan of Action To Implement the ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity (20102015)’27 is worth to consider. In this document the (exhibit-2) points directly expresses HRD issue need India’s collaboration. Taking into account the recent developments in ASEAN, in particular the entering into force of the ASEAN Charter, the adoption of the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community by 2015 and the issuance of ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on ASEAN Connectivity 2009; Aiming at deepening and intensifying the partnership and cooperation between ASEAN and India for the period of 2010-2015 in a more comprehensive manner and in response to new and future regional and global challenges over the next five years. Following five years of successful implementation of the Plan of Action, ASEAN and India agreed to implement the following activities, in conformity with their obligations under international law and in accordance with their respective domestic law, regulations and policies, with a view to supporting ASEAN integration and the community building efforts and deepening of ASEANIndia Dialogue Partnership HRD activities were undertaken. The HRD issues under consideration (table2) of India-Vietnam joint agreements are witnessing the fact of collaboration integrated to ASEAN and GMS integration.
Table--2 Table Broad Areas Collaboration Economic Science and technology CoCo-operation
Issue Under consideration of IndiaIndia-Vietnam Joint Agreement (Linked to Human Resource Development Collaboration) Collaboration) Particularly in developing a knowledge-based economy28, tourism, agriculture, aquaculture and multi-model transportation. Climate research, health sciences, nanotechnology, biotechnology, nuclear energy, pure sciences, agriculture, science management, new materials, Vietnam ’s space programme, in designing and developing aerial technology for 3G and 4G wireless services; photoelectric cell technology for turning solar power into electricity; Developing of Geographic Information
26 Anh. Nguyen Thuy (2009), The Internationalization of Higher Education in Vietnam: National Policies and Institutional Implementation at Vietnam National University, Hanoi; Paper No. 2008-E-21
27
Plan of Action To Implement the ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity (20102015); http://www.aseansec.org/25551.htm 28 India wants to further co-operation with Vietnam; http://www.asiaviews.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29645:india-wants-to-further-cooperation-with-vietnam&catid=3:column-a-commentaries&Itemid=10
16
Educational CoCo-operation
Cultural CoCo-operation
Industrial CoCo-operation
System (GIS) techniques to spot the areas vulnerable to droughts in service of agriculture and forestry and extracting substances from starfish in service of the pharmaceutical industry, bioenergy. Respective educational and research institutions and centers of excellence and directed their officials concerned to establish linkages between the various centers set up in Vietnam with Indian assistance, so as to benefit from their respective strengths and synergies. They agreed to encourage their citizens to engage in greater research activities, academic exchanges and scholarships. Scholarships offered by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations for undergraduate/postgraduate study in India , training at the Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Vietnam and the proposed Centre for English Language training29. Processing of wood and leather products, processing of marine products, exchange experiences and collaborate in the global market for agriculture produce like coffee, pepper, cashew, rubber, etc.
In regard to human capital and labour force Vietnam is confronting the demand and supply aspect 30
of labour and workforce issues and also expressed a wide gap remains between the demand for and
supply of skilled labour. In addition, training methods available in Vietnam have not been meeting staffing needs of the economy. Training methods are largely instructor-focused, and there has been a lack of well-trained local instructors. This has failed to satisfy the demand for skilled labour, especially for people with good experience in particular sectors such as retail, telecoms and manufacturing. Vietnam is recognizing the fact that the failure to develop the existing labour force adequately will have lead to a shortage of excellent managerial talent. Skills of Vietnamese executives, from the middle level upward, confront more challenges than most. Many lack the critical soft skills - effective decision-making abilities, ability to motivate and empower staff and practical management knowledge and experience to compete in a global marketplace - that are the main factors enabling executives to be successful. This lack of skills lowers the competitive advantage of local middle and senior level Vietnamese managers compared with their foreign counterparts. Policy implementation and Future Research and Conclusion
The HRD collaboration in Vietnam through university-university tie ups are dominated by the US based universities. There are rare evidences on India-Vietnam institutional collaboration in higher education (Thuy Anh. 2009). The India-Vietnam bilateral HRDC is integrated to regional and sub-regional integration context. Majority of issues, programs, actions are linked to economic, science and technology, educational, cultural, and industrial related co29
Vietnam, India issue joint declaration on strategic partnership; at http://english.vietnamnet.vn/politics/2007/07/715169/
30
Vietnam: Opportunities and challenges for HR Managers(Published: 17/07/2010 at 12:00 AM Newspaper section: Business) at URL http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/186512/vietnam-opportunities-and-challenges-for-hr-managers
17
operation having created the positive impacts bilateral issues. The study brought into light on managerial, labour and educational aspects of Vietnam also need collaboration from Indian counterpart. Beyond regional integration aspects the bilateral aspects of HRD collaboration between India-Vietnam demand more attention from both the sides need to be addressed by the bilateral policies. The issues of India-Vietnam HRD collaboration are diverse and also deep. In the context of cross national HRD collaboration an exhaustive study on effectiveness of bilateral MOUs and agreement on skill, knowledge transfer and its impact on national HRD of Vietnam and at same time India as a partnering country its qualitative and quantitative impact respective issues can be studied. The study indicates that the any developmental issues with bilateral agreement between two countries followed by the HRD collaboration aspects. Hence HRD collaboration is worth study for making concrete concept of macro-level HRD.
References (2009), The Internationalization of Higher Education in Vietnam: National Policies and Institutional Implementation at Vietnam National University, Hanoi : College of Economics - Vietnam National
Thuy Anh. Nguyen
University, Hanoi January 2009
Trade and Investment between Vietnam and India: Past, Present and Prospects; Institute of World Economics and Politics; http://www.cuts-citee.org/PDF/Backgdr-Vietnam.pdf An Assessment of Trade and Investment Cooperation between Vietnam and India; South-South Economic Cooperation: Exploring Mekong-Ganga Relationship; South-South Economic Cooperation: Exploring Mekong-Ganga Relationship- October 2005
CUTS (2007), South-South Economic Cooperation; Enhancing GMS-India Relationship; Enhancing GMS-India Relationship, CUTS CITEE, Jaipur
18
Areas of Cooperation
Point in Original Documents
Serial No
Political and Security Cooperation
(10)
1
Strengthen capacity-building efforts in the area of combating international terrorism through training and consultations between officials, analysts, field operators, seminars, conferences and operations, as appropriate; Strengthen counter-terrorism capacity building cooperation for transport, customs, immigration and quarantine inspections;
17
2
(19)
3
(21)
4
(27)
5
(34)
6
(35)
7
(39)
8
(40)
9
(50)
10
(51)
11
(52)
12
(53)
13
(55)
14
Promote capacity building for good governance, the strengthening of the rule of law and judiciary systems; Enhance ASEAN-India capacity building programme and economic development cooperation to support the ASEAN effort in enhancing regional integration, realizing the ASEAN Community by 2015, and narrowing development gap among ASEAN Member States; Undertake capacity building programmes, workshops and seminars that support ASEAN-India FTA negotiations, Rules of Origin (ROO), services liberalization, regulatory aspects of E-Commerce, elimination of non-tariff barriers, Competition Policy and Intellectual Property Rights; Promote capacity building and sharing of technology in the field of Infrastructure and policy planning and regulations of transportation and logistics between ASEAN and India; Undertake joint activities, including exchanges and study visits to enhance the development and capacities of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Government officials who are responsible for SME development in India and ASEAN Member States; Provide experts in the field of Entrepreneurship Development and Small and Medium Enterprise to support Entrepreneurship Development Centres (EDC) in CLMV and establish additional EDCs; Develop Human Resources in Forestry and Fisheries sub-sector by providing opportunities for ASEAN young generation to learn Management and Conservation of natural resources and build capacity in Forestry and Fisheries Information System and Space Technology (Remote Sensing and GIS); Develop human resources in the area of agriculture by providing opportunities for ASEAN young farmers to learn techniques, management and farm working practices; Develop institutional and human capacity building in the geological and mineral sector to ensure and adequately address the current needs and future demands of the minerals industry and economy in ASEAN Member States and India; Promote scientific and technological research and development of minerals and geosciences for development of value added products for mutual benefits; Enhance cooperation on Information and communication technology (ICT) such as sharing of best practices in policy, regulation and technological development, including through existing high level meeting between ASEAN and India on ICT; Promote and facilitate ASEAN-India ICT workshops and training of ICT capacity building; such as in the areas of software development; e-governance, e-commerce, satellite and spectrum technology, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and ICT to mitigate impacts of climate change; Conduct consultations between governments, private sector and industry group to facilitate investments in ICT, focusing on broadband connectivity and broadband applications in ASEAN;
Economic Cooperation
Description
19
(55)
15
Strengthen cooperation and capacity building in information security and cybersecurity, cyber laws and regulations; joint research and development activities in the area of interactive digital media;
20
Areas of Point in Serial CoOriginal No operation Documents Culture
Description
(56)
16
Intensify ASEAN-India development cooperation in support of ASEAN efforts in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and enhancing regional integration and realizing an ASEAN Community by 2015; Enhance capacity building on Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OSHMS);
(58)
17
(59)
18
(60)
19
(61)
20
(62)
21
(63)
22
(64)
23
(65)
24
(66)
25
(67)
26
Enhance consultations, including on stockpiling of antiviral and other essential medicines and medical equipment to jointly prevent and control the HIV/AIDS, influenza A(H1N1) and other pandemic diseases; and provide technical and financial assistance for capacity building to cope with emerging infectious disease;
(68)
29
Promote sharing of information and exchange of experts in the field of public health, medicine, physical and health education;
(69)
30
Undertake programmes/projects under the ASEAN-India Green Fund to strengthen cooperation in both research on climate change and development of appropriate adaptation and mitigation measures; provide technical and financial assistance and capacity building for ASEAN Member States to address climate change;
Continue to support the Centres for English Language Training and to establish additional Centres in ASEAN Member States; Undertake activities and develop programmes/projects under the ASEAN-India Science and Technology Development Fund; Promote policy dialogue in the area of science and technology; support joint industrial, R&D projects in mutually identified areas, promote public outreach programmes, including participation of children in Science Congresses and internship programmes for ASEAN and Indian young scientists; Establish IT Training Centres in CLMV and other interested ASEAN Member States; set up software development and training centres in CLMV and consider appropriate accreditation to these training centres; Provide assistance in information technology curriculum development and IT teacher trainings to CLMV; Enhance the IT skills of the workforce in ASEAN through provision of scholarships for ASEAN students, joint training programmes and courses, eLearning, seminars, workshops as well as exchange of visits of IT experts; Promote cooperation in space technologies including capacity building, sharing of satellite data for management of natural disaster and launching of small satellites and scientific instruments and payloads for experiments in remote sensing and communications; Work towards developing low cost drugs and traditional medicines to make medicines more affordable to people, and to explore a framework as appropriate for cooperation in these areas;
21
Areas of Cooperation
Point in Original Documents
Serial No
Culture
(70)
31
(71)
32
(72)
33
(73)
34
(74)
35
(75)
36
(76)
37
(78)
39
Description
Promote dialogue between government officials and civil societies of ASEAN and India in the areas of rural development, poverty eradication, women empowerment, and protection of children against exploitation, empowerment for persons with disabilities, gender equality and old age care that will help provide additional income to rural households and improve the quality of lives, through among others: i. Training programmes on good practices in rural development and poverty eradication; ii. Establish Rural Development Research Institute (RDRI) in CLMV to promote training and sharing experiences on poverty eradication; and iii. Study tours to the poverty reduction projects in ASEAN Member States and India Promote cooperation in biotechnology through capacity building and joint researches for mutual benefit; Promote scientific and technological research and development of advanced materials for development of value-added products; Enhance cooperation in education in line with the Cha-Am Hua Hin Declaration on Strengthening Cooperation on Education to Achieve an ASEAN Caring and Sharing Community adopted on 24 October 2009; Further increase the number of fellowships for ASEAN students, especially to those from CLMV to pursue higher education in India and provide scholarships in the area of performing and visual arts; Promote academic curriculum benchmarking to enhance comparability of educational systems, and develop academic credit transfer schemes between ASEAN and Indian academic institutions; and further promote closer collaborations between universities in ASEAN and India through the ASEAN University Network; Continue to promote people-to-people contacts, including through visits to ASEAN and India of students, youth, academia, scholars, librarians and diplomats, which help to foster ASEAN-India relations at the peoples level; as well as organise regular massmedia exchange programmes to ASEAN and India; Promote dialogue, networking and exchange of visits among government authorities responsible for cultural affairs, cultural institutions, museums, archives and libraries, artists, experts, music, acrobatics, dance, art, animation and cinematography;
22
