(Source: Viet Nam Social Security)

2017 saw progress in international cooperation for the social security sector. On the occasion of the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival, Vietnam Social Security (VSS)’s portal had an interview with VSS Deputy General Director Dao Viet Anh on the issue.

Q: What achievements did the VSS record in international cooperation over the past year?

A: In 2017, the VSS’s external affairs and international integration made big strides, in both depth and width. The sector mobilised international support for its development, increased information for foreign services and intensified international training in foreign languages, professional skills and ethics in line with international standards. The sector also held training courses and symposiums to exchange experience in relevant areas.

Specific outcomes recorded by the sector include successfully holding a conference on the VSS’s development partners on the sidelines of the Vietnam Development Forum, organised by the Vietnamese Government and the World Bank. The VSS also developed cooperation projects with international partners like the World Bank, the World Health Organisation, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the US International Development Agency (USAID), among others.

The sector has also increased information in service of external affairs, including by launching the English version of the VSS’s portal.

Attention has also been paid to international training for social security officials, aiming to improve the quality of human resources to meet requirements of the new development period. The sector organised a training course on English language and professional skills at Waikato University of New Zealand and worked with Japanese experts to provide training on professional ethics for staff.

Q: What are central tasks of the VSS in 2018 in international cooperation?

A: The VSS’s major external tasks include organising the 35^th ASEAN Social Security Association (ASSA) Board Meeting, and implementing bilateral and multilateral cooperation activities with regional and global social security organisations.

Apart from increasing foreign information services, the sector will organise training courses to equip social insurance officials with international integration skills and dispatch delegations to foreign countries and international conferences and workshops to learn from international experience in implementing social and health insurance policies, while welcoming foreign experts and partners.

Q: In 2018, the VSS will assume the post of the President of the ASSA Board Meeting and host the 35^th meeting. How will the VSS prepare for this?

A: The sector is promptly preparing for the 35^th ASSA Board Meeting in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa, in September 2018. Personnel work for the conference has been completed. Sub-committees have also been established to implement activities prepared at the 34^th ASSA Board Meeting and work on a master plan for organising the 35^th ASSA Board Meeting.

Information work has been implemented since the beginning of 2018, reflecting the VSS’s determination to successfully organise the event, contributing to raising the role, position and image of the VSS in the region.

International Cooperation Department