Mr. Kokko, a member of a Swedish delegation, was a speaker at the “Model of Swedish development” seminar sharing Sweden’s development experiences with Vietnamese officials in Hanoi on 9 November. This seminar is part of a co-operative project between the Vietnam Institute of Social Sciences, the Sweden International Development Agency (SIDA) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
He said that many people think it is too early for Vietnam to focus on developing leading (first-grade) universities because Vietnam’s economy has not developed to a high level yet.
However, according to Mr Kokko, Vietnam’s educational system should aim to help the country create a breakthrough in human resource development in order to positively respond to challenges and make the country capable of seizing opportunities that it would have in the coming years.
He said he was pleased to know that Vietnam is developing a project on educational renewal focusing on 14 major universities nationwide.
According to Sweden’s experience, skills and knowledge always play an important role in preparing and creating opportunities for the country to effectively seize outside opportunities in service of its national development.
Working at the European Institute for Japanese Studies of the Stockholm Economics School, Prof. Ari Kokko has carried out specific research on development, commerce, and foreign direct investment. Over recent years, his research has mainly focused on economic development in Vietnam.
