On 11th September 2012 the VNU University of Economics and Business organized a seminar on Public Policy and Sustainable Development. The seminar was sponsored by Hanns Seidel Foundation. About 70 experts from various research establishments as well as a number of business students took part.

The seminar focused on discussing Vietnam’s development strategy of prioritizing sustainability for the period from 2011 to 2020. This strategy includes goals such as maintaining sustainable economic growth and the introduction of ecological growth. At the “Asia-Pacific Cooperation Summit 2012” Vietnam announced that it is intent on promoting sustainable growth and on contributing to the wealth in the APEC Region. To achieve this goal, Vietnam wants to restructure and stabilize the economy and maintain appropriate positive growth. The government is looking for solutions to restructure public institutions, private and state-owned enterprises, and the private banking system. In addition, the fight against corruption as well as administrative reforms is expected to contribute towards stability and transparence in economic policies. The seminar succeeded in giving a helpful analysis of current public policies and sustainable development and led to a very open discussion among participants.

From Germany Professor Herr and Professor Stachuletz from the Berlin School of Economics and Law were invited by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. They gave presentations on the balance of payment and economic development (Prof. Herr) and the debt crisis in the Euro Zone (Prof. Stachuletz).