Vietnam on the path of social modernization and interregional cooperation
Authors: Sherhin Serhii , Prypik Yevhen 
Published: May 2020

The article examines the process of forming the Vietnamese model of economic development in the context of the “renewal” strategy and social modernization of the country over the last 30 years. The main factors behind the successful development of Vietnam are the current pattern of an export-oriented economy and a major overhaul of the legislation: the adoption of new land laws, new regulations on the currency and banks. Paying tribute to the Asian conservatism and seeing a reform of the political system as a threat to the foundations of the statehood and national unity, the Vietnam leaders has chosen its path of social modernization - a “renewal” strategy (in Vietnamese – “doi moi”) that has transformed the country within twenty years into another Asian tiger. The “renewal” course was determined by the decisions of the VI (1986) and VII (1991) congresses of the Vietnam Communist Party. The content of this course was to allow the development of all socio-economic structures, to promote personal initiative, to weaken the mechanisms of public administration and to activate the policy of “open doors” in foreign economic relations. External factors for the successful development of the Vietnamese economy include the ASEAN membership. Due to the many political and socio-cultural factors common to Vietnam and the ASEAN member states (Vietnam joined ASEAN in 1995) and the continued political stability of the country, Vietnam has achieved a particular favor from the investors and trading partners of this association. The decision to create the ASEAN Free Trade Area at the Singapore Association Summit in 1992 played a powerful impetus for the trade, economic and investment development of the entire sub-region. Considerable attention in the article has also been paid to analyzing the development of political and trade-economic relations between Vietnam and Ukraine in the context of multilateral cooperation. The establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and signing the key bilateral agreements has been analyzed. The absence of fundamental differences on key international issues, as well as the willingness to develop friendship and mutually beneficial partnership, have created the favorable conditions for cooperation between Ukraine and Vietnam within the international organizations. There is much in common in our countries’ positions on the proliferation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, counter-terrorism, reform of the United Nations organization etc. Ukraine and Vietnam have traditionally supported each other’s nominations for election to the governing bodies of international organizations. In the sphere of trade and economics, the issue of signing a free trade agreement between Ukraine and Vietnam remains of current interest. The conclusion of such an agreement will significantly contribute to the development of Ukrainian-Vietnamese cooperation in the trade sphere, as well as to overcoming the negative balance of foreign trade with Vietnam. During the last meetings of the Joint Ukrainian-Vietnamese Intergovernmental Commission the two parties discussed a number of important issues in the perspective areas of mutual interest, in particular, trade, banking, finance and investment, engineering, high technologies, energy, mining, construction, medicine and pharmaceuticals, agriculture and tourism.