Vietnam, a strong Asian tiger

Vietnam is one of the most fascinating countries in Asia, a relatively young nation that was unified in 1976, giving it a special dynamism and a forward-looking approach. Its population exceeds 92 million people, with projected GDP growth of 6.5% by 2017 and a per capita income of about $6,000, relatively low at the global level, but well above its neighbors in Indochina.

As with other countries in the region, Vietnam is nominally a socialist republic run solely by the Communist Party. Its steady economic opening since 1986 has generated significant economic growth shown by the outward appearance of an autocratic capitalist system, with luxury hotels and shops in large cities, the progressive entry of multinational corporations, and the conversion of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City ) and to a lesser extent Hanoi, into international hubs connected to other major cities around the world.

The country’s transformation has been rapid and can almost be charted on a daily basis through the construction of new buildings, the profusion of motorcycles on its streets and the evolution from an agrarian, subsistence economy to a service economy. Tourism plays an increasingly important role in the economy, and the government, society and international investors are aware of this.

The communication technologies have impacted heavily. Mobile coverage in cities is generally good, access to the internet does not seem to be restricted or censored, and more online services are available.

Foreign investment has exploded in recent years, particularly from regional players such as China, South Korea and Japan, but also from the United States and France. The real estate boom in the big cities reflects this international interest.

As part of Vietnam’s development, small and medium-sized entrepreneurial activity is starting to pick up, creating an emerging middle class prepared to spend money on well-known brands and luxury items.

One of the most pressing needs in the new Vietnamese service economy will be talent development. Recent articles in the Vietnam Times, cite players in the tourism industry complaining about the lack of skilled workers to meet growing international demand, as well as high employee turnover. Prime Minister Nguy?n Xuan Phúc has written about the need to recruit and develop talent in the country’s large state enterprises, which still largely support the basic sectors of the economy.

Two aspects that will require ongoing attention to ensure balanced development in the coming years will be universal access to health and higher education. Vietnam’s population has traditionally been very fragmented by the Mekong Delta. However, the development of the service economy and the increasing pull of the large cities, especially Hanoi and Saigon, are attracting growing numbers of young people in search of better employment opportunities.

Higher education has an important role to play in helping Vietnam achieve balanced growth and avoid the problems created by income inequality often found in emerging countries.

Since 1975, when the war with the United States ended, Vietnam’s resilient people have rebuilt the country, looking to the future and avoiding dwelling on the past. A number of generations have lived or heard first-hand about the war, but the topic is treated dispassionately and seen from the appropriate historical distance.

In Vietnam’s countryside, crops, dwellings and graves are cheek by jowel. The dead can be buried in the vicinity of the house or in the family field, their graves part of the rice field, a peaceful and respectful symbiosis of present and past, where the memory of the ancestors continues.

Perhaps this fusion of past and future will facilitate sustainable growth for Vietnam. Peoples with recent experience of war are often more reluctant to start new conflict.

One of the most evocative novels written by a Western author set in Vietnam Graham Greene’s The Quiet American, set in the 1950s, when the country was still a French colony, albeit under increasing US tutelage. At that time, the Viet Cong were busy organizing revolts and uprisings, and would soon become an organized army that would eventually lead to the segregation of the country into North and South Vietnam. Three of the characters in the novel reflect the different attitudes of outsiders.

Pyle, whose character is evoked in the title, is a well-to-do, idealistic American who believes in the idea of a third force between communism and the French. His na?ve principles lead him to intervene in the power struggle and he is assassinated.

Fowler, a veteran journalist who has found in Vietnam an escape from his mediocre life in England insists he is merely an impartial, if cynical witness, implicitly accepting the outcome of events until making a decisive intervention when he considers they are being unfairly altered.

Vigot, the French policeman in charge of security, is aware of the burden his job puts on him, but acts pragmatically.

With which of these three characters do identify with most?

Interestingly, their attitudes can be transferred to today’s escalation of international tension.

A fourth character in the novel, equally important, is Phuong, an attractive young Vietnamese woman, who Pyle is able to seduce away from Fowler. But Pyle’s murder seemingly leaves Phuong with little choice but to return to Fowler's arms. I do not know if Greene wanted to symbolize in this character the passive resignation of an entire nation. If that were the case, then it would not be applicable to our times.

Vietnam: a crucible of cultures with a troubled past and a formidable future. A country worth watching closely, and exploring for business opportunities.