Vietnam-US: expectations for cooperating and developing sustainable social security
16/05/2022 07:55 PM
Since the establishment of the comprehensive partnership in 2013, cooperation activities between Vietnam and the US have been deepened in all fields, including social security. Particularly, social insurance and health insurance cooperation has achieved impressive results, creating a premise for cooperation towards sustainable development of the two countries in the future.
Amid the comprehensive cooperation framework between Vietnam and the US, Vietnam Social Security (VSS) has implemented many cooperation activities with its US partners via a number of channels, such as the US Embassy in Vietnam, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC). Via the US Embassy in Vietnam, in 2016, VSS sent a delegation to the US to study national databases, e-cards and the model of implementing social security policies.
Caption: VSS General Director Nguyen The Manh and USABC President and CEO Ted Osius exchange a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation.
Via USAID, the two sides have had a long-term cooperation process in the field of social security. In November 2020, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the US and the 25th anniversary of the establishment of VSS, VSS and USAID signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in supporting VSS to improve centralized medicine bidding capacity, enhance the capacity of officers working in health insurance assessment, build a model of calculating and balancing the health insurance fund; and in transferring the Electronic Logistics Management Information Systems (eLMIS) in managing contracts and supplying medicine via centralized bidding, contributing to improving the efficiency in healthcare activities and ensuring social security for Vietnamese people.
Regarding the USABC, cooperation between the two sides has been implemented recently. Since 2019, VSS and the USABC held some activities in sharing experience in implementing the health insurance policy of the US, consulting experts about purchasing and using medicine safely and reasonably in medical examination and treatment using health insurance. However, these activities were still carried out on a small scale and failed to fully tap the cooperation potential and opportunities between the two sides to support the development of the insurance sector of Vietnam.
A meeting between the VSS and the USABC after the signing ceremony.
On March 8, 2022, in Hanoi, the VSS General Director Nguyen The Manh attended a working session, chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, with the USABC, led by its President and CEO Ted Osius, and leaders of leading US corporations which are investing in the region and in Vietnam. At the meeting, PM Chinh said Vietnam always attaches great importance to and wishes to continue deepening the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and the US to a new level and more practically and effectively, on the basis of mutual respect and interests, contributing to peace, prosperity and stability.
After that, on March 9, VSS and the USABC signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation. It targets to enhance the cooperation between VSS and the USABC in the implementation of health insurance. The two sides will share common benefits and create a favourable environment for regular exchanges between the VSS and US partners, towards the goal of sustainable universal health insurance coverage; and create an environment for Vietnamese people to get access to safe, effective and quality healthcare and health insurance policies.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc. E. Knapper affirmed that thanks to this cooperation and other projects in the future, the bilateral relations between Vietnam and the US will continue to be enhanced and develop to a higher level. He said he expected that in the future, VSS, as well as agencies and businesses of the two countries, will continue to cooperate in pioneering fields such as digital economy, cashless payment and social security towards sustainable development between the two countries.
The partnership between Vietnam and the US is developing strongly in terms of both breadth and depth. Besides many fields of cooperation such as trade, development, education, healthcare, energy and security, cooperation in social security is considered a promising field that has a key role in sustainable economic growth. This is also a new expectation of cooperation between Vietnam and the US in the future, heading towards strength and independence and cooperation with the common commitment to peace and prosperity.
As part of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's working trip to attend the ASEAN-U.S. Special Summit, visit and work in the United States and the United Nations, on May 11, 2022, at the U.S. Department of Labor headquarters, Vietnam's Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, Dao Ngoc Dung, had a bilateral meeting with Thea Lee, the U.S. Deputy Undersecretary for International Labor Affairs.
During the meeting, Minister Dao Ngoc Dung highly appreciated the cooperation and support from the U.S. Department of Labor to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs of Vietnam. Since the Memorandum of Understanding between the two Ministries was signed in 2000, the U.S. Department of Labor has supported Vietnam with more than 50 million USD through bilateral mechanisms or through the International Labor Organization (ILO) to implement technical assistance projects in areas such as: human resource development; labor market and employment services development; social security; building healthy labor relations; and preventing and reducing child labor.
Minister Dao Ngoc Dung shared with the U.S. Department of Labor the recent reforms in Vietnam's state management of labor and social affairs, particularly the amendment of the 2019 Labor Code and Vietnam's ratification of 7 out of 8 ILO core conventions.
Currently, the Vietnamese Government has plans to continue innovating and improving labor laws and human resource development, especially high-quality human resources, considering this as one of the strategic breakthroughs for socio-economic development as Vietnam increasingly integrates into the global economy.
The Minister proposed that both sides expand cooperation based on continuing the implementation of current technical assistance projects, such as enhancing the capacity to enforce labor laws and building harmonious, stable, and progressive labor relations. Special attention would be given to Vietnam's priorities in the coming years, such as developing high-quality human resources, reforming the social insurance system, and developing the labor market.
Thea Lee thanked Minister Dao Ngoc Dung for visiting the U.S. Department of Labor and considered this visit historic, as it was the first time the Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs of Vietnam had made an official working visit to the U.S. Department of Labor.
In the context of the good cooperation between the two Ministries through the successful implementation of many projects and cooperative activities, the Minister's visit further strengthened mutual understanding and sharing and opened up new opportunities to enhance cooperation in areas of mutual interest. The U.S. side highly appreciated Vietnam's positive progress in improving labor laws, particularly the passage of the 2019 Labor Code by Vietnam's National Assembly, as well as the ratification and implementation of many important ILO conventions.
The U.S. side committed to continuing to promote cooperation with Vietnam in key areas, including labor relations, strengthening national capacity to prevent and reduce child labor, and supporting children adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the end of the meeting, the two sides agreed to continue the annual Labor Dialogue between the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs of Vietnam and the U.S. Department of Labor – a mechanism that has proven effective through 15 sessions conducted over the past 20 years.
The leaders of the two Ministries affirmed that cooperation through technical assistance projects is important, but more importantly, through this dialogue mechanism, both sides would achieve mutual understanding, sharing, and support each other in the development process of their respective countries. Both sides believe that this cooperation will bring benefits to both Vietnamese workers, Vietnamese businesses, as well as U.S. companies investing, cooperating, and doing business in Vietnam.
VSS
Sickness
Work Injury and Occupational Disease
Survivor’s
Old-age
Maternity
Unemployment
Medical (Health Insurance)
Certificate of coverage
VSS - ISSA Guidelines on Social Security
