REMARKS BY H.E. Mr. Nguyen Hai Ninh IN “BUILDING NHA TRANG – KHANH HOA INTO A FLAGSHIP AREA OF THE AGE OF GLOBAL ENLIGHTENMENT”

Your Excellency Mr. Michael Dukakis, the (former) Governor of Massachusetts, Chairman of Boston Global Forum (BGF)!

Your Excellency Mr. Danilo Turk, the (former) Slovenian President, President of Club de Madrid!

Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, co-founder and CEO of the Boston Global Forum!

Ladies and gentlemen, international friends, attend the dialog today.

First of all, allow me, on behalf of the Khanh Hoa leadership, send respectful greetings, and express sincere and deep gratitude to: Governor Michael Dukakis, Chairman of the Boston Global Forum; the President Slovenia Danilo Turk, President of Club de Madrid; Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, co-founder and CEO of the Boston Global Forum; and the leaders, strategists, scholars those brought about Initiative “Viet Nam Spark” and organizations special event today with the theme “Building Nha Trang Khanh Hoa into a flagship area in the age of global enlightenment.” Your presence here shows great attention, appreciation, and affection for Viet Nam in general and the city of Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa province in particular. On behalf of the leadership of Khanh Hoa province, I am very honored to be invited and speak at this exceptional event.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Khanh Hoa Province is located in the South Central Coast of Viet Nam, 1,280 km from Hanoi to the north (about 1-hour 30-minute flight) and 443 km from Ho Chi Minh City, the most prominent urban Viet Nam, to the south (50-minute flight); in which Nha Trang is the capital of Khanh Hoa Province.

Khanh Hoa is known for its beautiful and romantic beaches, the world-class best famous sea bays, with many resorts, world-class resorts; wonders, natural landscapes, historical sites, traditional culture imbued with the national identity of Viet Nam. And the wild produce gifted for Khanh Hoa, with two leading quality agarwood and nests which the poet, writer Quach Tan put in Vietnamese poetic verses with sweet, earnest sentences: “Khanh Hoa is land of Agarwood. Over high mounts, and wide oceans do lovers go on. Salanganes’Nest bears the countryside traits. Deep river and stone carved with the country’s oath”. The famous Khanh Hoa Agarwood – spirit of sky and land – known as merchants from all over the world have come here to hunt for spices rare especially in Agarwood tree products is Aquilaria Crassna Pierre (Kỳ Nam) then set going around the silk route across the East-West antiquity. Besides, Salanganes’Nest Khanh Hoa, with 31 trace elements, 18 higher-order amino acids, is considered the nest king, is nutritious food for royal banquets  in the past, really is a gift from the Nature given to this province.

The story highlights the historic journey to Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa’s international friends. So in today’s era, Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa will leave any mark on anyone?

The era we live in is and will witness more and more challenges, and to solve those challenges, wisdom and products of wisdom play a vital role. The Resolution of the XIII Congress of the Communist Party of Viet Nam has set a steering view that must have a breakthrough mechanism to attract and appreciate talents for promoting innovation, vigorous application of science and technology, creating strong motivation for the country’s fast and sustainable development. And we see, Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa has fully converged the potentials, strengths to become a national, regional, and global intellectual destination and creativity.

About the geographical location, Khanh Hoa has an important strategic position for Viet Nam, Southeast Asia, even for the Asia-Pacific region. Located in the easternmost on the mainland of Viet Nam, Khanh Hoa is a place to welcome the first sunray of the country, the gateway to the Pacific Ocean, located on the vibrant and most resourceful waters in the world; In which Truong Sa island district with a lot of precious resources. This only region in Viet Nam owns the seas with a considerable depth. The average temperature is 26.5 ℃ / year and has a mild climate, ideal for high-end tourism.

Khanh Hoa coast is also the interference of the hot sea from the equatorial and the cold sea from the north.

Looking on the map of the South Central Coast, Khanh Hoa, the central intersection among the provinces of Viet Nam, is the eastern bridge point in the East-West economic corridor connecting the Central and Highlands areas, is the convergence of critical roads according to the North-South axis connecting the country’s two political and economic centers of Hanoi capital and Ho Chi Minh City. In terms of economy and connection, Khanh Hoa is between maritime routes and aviation, connecting two leading economic and financial centers in the Asia-Pacific region of Hong Kong (China) and Singapore. As a result, it has a tremendous prospect to become a regional economic link and domestic and international goods circulation. Khanh Hoa also has Cam Ranh International Airport and many deepwater ports, joining other prominent Southeast Asia.

About culture and history, Nha Trang City – Khanh Hoa used to be one of the cultural and religious centers from ancient times with national relics and typical cultural and religious works. Such as Ponagar tower relics – symbols for the convergence of traditional cultural values ​​and traditional beliefs of native Vietnamese and Cham people, annually attracting tens of thousands of followers to pilgrimage. Long Son Pagoda – an ancient temple over 120 years old, where the enormous outdoor Buddha statue is placed in Viet Nam, is also one of the most important temples of Vietnamese Buddhism; Nha Trang Cathedral so far has nearly 100 years old, with ancient Götich architectural design in Europe, …

Through many historical ups and downs of Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa, there have been exchanges, continues and harmony between Asian culture and Western culture to integrate and develop, continue to hold one Central role in Viet Nam’s innovative research. Indochina Oceanography was in 1930 (now Nha Trang Oceanographic Institute); Pasteur Institute, the leading research institute for vaccine and medical bio-products. In particular, this land is where Dr. Alexandre Yersin, an excellent Swiss-original French, found the plague bacillus in 1894 to help humankind prevent the evil epidemic, like the case of Covid-19 today. He went to many parts of the world but chose Khanh Hoa as the second home and spent more than half a century working, researching, and inventing. He once said that “I can’t leave here (Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa), only here is my soul open.”

In terms of characteristics of Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa people, from the past so far, Khanh Hoa people always keep gentle, friendly, open, and humble qualities; Especially we are ready to dedicate, share with a carefree soul. New thoughts, new knowledge are humanity, aiming to become better and beautiful society will be well received and spread.

I believe you will see this feature most clearly at the co-founder and CEO of the Global Forum Boston, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, a son of Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa’s hometown. He co-authored the book “Remaking the World – Toward an Age of Global Enlightenment,” the United Nations Centennial Initiative. We are proud he has very nice things to contribute to the general initiative for humanity, and still don’t forget to confirm the position of the homeland on the future map of the world.

Besides, Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa has hosted a peace and innovation event in 2015, on the 20th anniversary of the normalization of Viet Nam – United States relations; Also organized essential conferences of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). These events show the faith and recognition of the world with Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa in particular and with Viet Nam in general as the destination of peace, creativity, and aiming for a promising future.

From those premises, we have enough basis for launching a new journey: “Building Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa into a flagship area of the age of global enlightenment.”

Ladies and gentlemen!

Khanh Hoa identifies that the development strategy in the next ten years will become urban centrally, in which Nha Trang is a nuclear urban and focusing on investing in resources to build Nha Trang. To become an innovative metropolitan area, creativity and sustainability; where convergence and interference of cultures and education; Become a nucleus, the center of innovation, culture – education of the region and the whole country.

Currently, we are actively making and perfecting necessary plans, including adjusting the typical strategy of Nha Trang city to 2040; this is an opportunity to integrate the idea of ​​scientists to maximize the distinctive strengths of the province in the future. We orient the development of green, intelligent, horizontal urban areas. Industrial fields aimed at high-class production, focusing on energy, shipbuilding, food processing, and drinks; developing aquaculture towards high-tech sea farming, responsibility, and sustainability; Diversifying tourism products in the high-end segment, bringing Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa to become a new standard of quality, to work, and to travel. Besides, to realize that vision, we are working closely with many Vietnamese corporations and investors such as Vingroup, Sun Group, FPT, FLC, Hoa Phat, Central South, KDI Holding … and foreign corporations: Sumitomo of Japan; Lotte and Hyundai of Korea… At the same time, the Boston Global Forum and the Club de Madrid introduce significant investors from the US and Europe to survey and invest in Khanh Hoa province.

Ladies and gentlemen!

With such important goals, I look forward to acquiring wisdom, rich experience of the Boston Global Forum and Club de Madrid to expose Nha Trang City – Khanh Hoa’s potentials in the “Age of Global Enlightenment.” Within this dialog, I want to emphasize the following two proposals:

I cherish and welcome delegates from the Boston Global Forum and the World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid to contribute initiatives and plans to complete the Nha Trang development strategy in particular, and Khanh Hoa, in general, becomes a global creative center. This cooperation will create opportunities and environments for strategists and world leaders to stick and coordinate with Khanh Hoa province to realize this vital strategy; At the same time, contributing to strengthening and developing the cooperation of Khanh Hoa with the Boston Global Forum from the 2015 “Peace and Innovation” seminar with the attendance of Governor Michael Dukakis, Professor Joseph Nye, Professor John Quelch, Professor Thomas Patterson, Professor Robert Desimone … and many leading professors in Boston, world leaders.

Secondly, from the results of this discussion session, if authorized by a competent authority, Khanh Hoa province, we look forward to hosting a large-scale event in Nha Trang City – Khanh Hoa in 2022. To welcome the Boston Global Forum, the Club de Madrid leaders, delegates, and strategic investors visiting Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa to continue contributing intelligence and experience Helping Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa realizes aspirations to become a creative center in the Age of Global Enlightenment.

Above these are my shares, instead of the opening of the discussion session with the theme “Building Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa into a flagship area of the Age of Global Enlightenment” today. We look forward to listening and talking with you.

Please wish you health, success, and happiness.

Thank you very much!