A delegation from National Economics University (NEU), led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Huy Nhuong, Vice President of NEU, recently visited and held working meetings with the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) and co-organized an international scientific conference at ADBI headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.

Delegates attending the conference

The delegation also included Prof. Dr. To Trung Thanh, Head of the Department of Research Management; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ho Dinh Bao, Head of the Department of Personnel and Organization; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Thi Bich Chi, Head of the Department of Finance and Accounting; Dr. Dao Thanh Tung, Head of the Department of International Cooperation; and University experts and researchers invited to attend and present at the conference with funding from ADBI. The conference also brought together ADBI experts, authors, and international experts from Asian countries including Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bhutan, Pakistan, and India.

The 2024 international conference, themed “Policy Lessons for the Post-COVID 19 Recovery,” was jointly organized by the two institutions on March 7-8, 2024, at ADBI in Tokyo, Japan.

Prof. Dr. Tetsushi Sonobe, Dean of ADBI, delivers remarks

In his opening remarks, Prof. Dr. Tetsushi Sonobe, Dean of ADBI, expressed his pleasure that, for the first time, ADBI was partnering with NEU to organize an international conference to discuss socioeconomic issues in different countries and share lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as issues concerning post-pandemic recovery.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Huy Nhuong, Vice President of NEU, delivers opening remarks

Next, in his opening remarks, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Huy Nhuong, Vice President of NEU, welcomed the researchers and speakers attending the conference and thanked ADBI for agreeing to co-organize it. Assoc. Prof. Bui Huy Nhuong emphasized that the research and discussions presented at the conference would offer diverse perspectives on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-pandemic recovery process in countries with different economic and institutional conditions.

An overview of the conference plenary session

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Huy Nhuong presents a souvenir to Dr. Peter Morgan, ADBI

The conference opened with a presentation by two speakers: Dr. Jonathan Pincus, an international expert with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam, and a professor from Fulbright University Vietnam. The presentation addressed macroeconomic lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and Vietnam’s experience. It highlighted the rapid changes in economies across Asia and the world as the pandemic spread, and countries’ fiscal and monetary policy responses to sustain their economies and increase support for population groups, businesses, and others affected by the pandemic.

The conference then continued with six thematic sessions and one roundtable discussion. The six thematic sessions comprised Session 1 on macroeconomic issues under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; Session 2 on the impact of the pandemic and government responses on trade flows within ASEAN; Session 3 on operations and government support during the pandemic and their effects on businesses and certain manufacturing sectors; Session 4 on digital economy issues in the context of the pandemic; Session 5 on small and medium-sized enterprises as a group accounting for a very large share of businesses in Asian countries; and Session 6 on the impact of COVID-19 on the health and welfare of individuals and households.

Delegates at the conference’s thematic sessions

The roundtable featured a lively discussion on digital transformation among small and medium-sized enterprises in Asian countries. Speakers from Vietnam, Bhutan, Indonesia, and Japan provided engaging insights into the advantages and challenges of digitalization for small and medium-sized enterprises in these countries, particularly differences in their fields of operation and their capacity to adapt in terms of human resources, finance, infrastructure, and other areas. The speakers also offered delegates several suggestions, emphasizing the need for further in-depth research on this issue before suitable policy recommendations could be developed for each group of enterprises.

Delegates at the conference’s roundtable discussion

Under the joint plan of NEU and ADBI, selected papers from this conference will undergo further revisions for publication in a special issue of JED – Journal of Economics and Development, which is indexed in Scopus.

The organizing committee presents the “Best Research Award” to Prof. Dr. Giang Thanh Long of NEU

In his closing remarks, Dr. Dil Bahadur Rahut of ADBI warmly celebrated the conference’s success, noting that it had exceeded his expectations for the first major international conference jointly organized by the two institutions.

During the conference, NEU and ADBI reached an agreement to jointly organize annual international conferences starting in 2024. The two institutions also opened up opportunities for collaborative research on economic topics of interest in the Asia-Pacific region.

The NEU delegation attending the conference

Article and photos: The delegation and the Department of Communications

This is an automated translation. If you notice any errors, please contact the Department of Communications, National Economics University at phongtruyenthong@neu.edu.vn.