At the consultation workshop (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Advancing Responsible Business Practice in Vietnamwas the main theme of a consultation workshop held in Hanoi on October 21 byUNDP Vietnam, the Ministry of Justice and the Government of Sweden.
A Preliminary Assessment of the Regulatory Framework onResponsible Business Practice in Vietnam was launched at the event, withrecommendations made by the report put up for discussion.
One of the recommendations said Vietnam should prioritiseimprovement of the regulatory framework to ensure protection of vulnerablegroups, including workers in the informal sector, ethnic minorities, migrantworkers, and victims of labour exploitation, in the global value chains.
In her opening remarks, Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Anne Mawe said:“Responsible business practice is essential to ensuringeconomic growth. In our experiences,economic growth does not come at the cost of social or environmentaldevelopment. Sweden has an excellent track record in this regard, makingresponsible business practice an important component of business development,balancing growth with social dialogue in the workplace and sustainability”.
In Vietnam, efforts at promoting responsible business practice have been driventhrough the lens of sustainable development. The country’s leaders haverecently shifted their focus from a purely economic development strategy, toone of sustainable development. In late 2019, the Prime Minister issued Decision1362/QD-TTg approving a plan for sustainable development of the private sector.A key viewpoint of the Decision is to developprivate sector in an effective and sustainable manner, ensuring a close,reasonable and harmonious combination between economic efficiency, socialresponsibility, and natural resources and environment protection.
Deputy Minister of Justice Nguyen Khanh Ngoc said based on three pillars of“protect, respect and remedy”, responsible business practice first of all meansadherence to laws and regulations.
“Promotion of responsible business practice in Vietnamaims at the balance between continued economic growth and sustainabledevelopment. It can be done thanks to the improvement of relevant laws andregulations and their enforcement”, he said.
Meanwhile, UNDPResident Representative in Vietnam Caitlin Wiesen highlighted the opportunityfor Vietnam to advance responsible business practice.
“COVID-19 has disclosed pre-existing inequalities and vulnerabilities in oursystems, including in how we do business,” she said, adding “Vietnam hasshown tremendous leadership in managing the pandemic. Recovering from and co-existing with COVID provides Vietnamwith an opportunity to extend this leadership and build forward better, byrebuilding businesses that are responsible to the people and the environment.They can continue to drive economic growth without compromising sustainabledevelopment.”
The workshop heard presentations on Responsible BusinessPractice in ASEAN in the context of COVID-19, including experience in advancingresponsible business in Thailand.
Participants discussed ways forward on developing a national action plan toadvance Responsible Business Practice in Vietnam./.
“COVID-19 has disclosed pre-existing inequalities and vulnerabilities in oursystems, including in how we do business,” she said, adding “Vietnam hasshown tremendous leadership in managing the pandemic. Recovering from and co-existing with COVID provides Vietnamwith an opportunity to extend this leadership and build forward better, byrebuilding businesses that are responsible to the people and the environment.They can continue to drive economic growth without compromising sustainabledevelopment.”
The workshop heard presentations on Responsible BusinessPractice in ASEAN in the context of COVID-19, including experience in advancingresponsible business in Thailand.
Participants discussed ways forward on developing a national action plan toadvance Responsible Business Practice in Vietnam./.
VNA
