International Scientific Conference "Security and Development Issues in the New Context"

The conference was co-organized by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi), University College Cork (Ireland), and the Embassy of the Republic of Ireland in Vietnam. According to the organizers, by the time the conference took place, they had received nearly 50 papers from scholars both domestically and internationally.

In his opening remarks at the conference, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dao Thanh Truong (Vice Rector of the University) summarized the scientific and practical significance of the conference theme and noted that the world today has many potentials but also many risks; the aspiration for security, safety, and development is the dream of many countries, including Vietnam. Vice Rector Dao Thanh Truong highly appreciated the cooperation between the Faculty of International Studies (University of Social Sciences and Humanities) and the Irish Aid Fund (Ireland Embassy) in jointly organizing such scientific conferences. At the same time, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dao Thanh Truong also mentioned the central role of the University in the field of research in Social Sciences and Humanities, and expressed his hope that the units would continue to leverage this advantage to organize more meaningful conferences.

The workshop was chaired and moderated by two lecturers from the Faculty of International Studies: Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh and Dr. Le Lena. The workshop was divided into two sessions with seven presentations by experts from Vietnam and abroad. It began with an introductory report, intended to be thought-provoking, titled..."Sustainable Science"By Dr. Drogoul Alexis - Representative of the French Institute for Development Studies in Vietnam.

Session 1 then took place with 3 reports from foreign scholars: (i)"The term 'Non-traditional security' - and how international cooperation can support it"by Dr. Sebastian Paust (Head of Development Cooperation Department of the German Embassy in Vietnam); (ii)"The connection between food, water and energy security: processes and development"by Dr. John Ward (Mekong Regional Future Research Institute in Laos) and (iii)"Migration, social integration, and the impact of Covid-19"Presented by Dr. Edward Lahiff (on behalf of the team of authors including Prof. Pham Quang Minh and MSc. Nguyen Trong Chinh).

The second session also included three reports by domestic scholars, including: (i)"The power of norms in Asia-Pacific"by Dr. Le Lena (Department of International Studies); (ii)"The world order in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution"by Dr. Nghiem Tuan Hung (Institute of World Economics and Politics) and (iii)“What choices does China have? Adjustments in China’s foreign security strategy under Xi Jinping”By Dr. Hoang Hue Anh (Institute of Chinese Studies).

After each presentation, the speakers received questions and answered them directly. Despite being an online seminar, the interaction between the speakers and attendees was frequent and lively. As a result, the seminar ran continuously for 5 hours (from 13:00 to 18:00).

Concluding the seminar, Professor Pham Quang Minh highly appreciated the dedication and contributions of all seven presenters. According to Professor Pham Quang Minh, the presentations selected for the seminar were closely interconnected, from theory to practice. Professor Pham Quang Minh reiterated the importance of the relationship between security and development, emphasizing a world with an unpredictable new context and affirming that the future of the world depends on the nations themselves. In this context, nations need to focus more on cooperation and promoting multilateralism. Not only nations, but also global organizations such as the United Nations and regional organizations such as the EU and ASEAN need to further strengthen their connections, cooperation, and sharing to create a safe, developed world, based on international law and for the benefit of humanity.