An inauguration ceremony to mark Vietman National University, College of Economics being awarded the status of WTO Chair was attended by Deputy Director-General Harsha V. Singh on 26 February 2010. The award was made to the research team led by Dr Vu Quoc Huy, Dean of the Development Economics Department at UEB, Vietnam National University Hanoi.
 
In his statement, DDG Singh said: “Viet Nam joined the WTO in 2007 and became its 150th member. Now, within three years, we have this university being awarded the WTO Chair. Fourteen WTO Chairs have been established worldwide ... through a tough competitive selection process, involving the participation of an external Advisory Body. It is a tribute to the competence of this university to have come ahead of many other very able aspirants.

“This Chair award shows that the academic communities in Viet Nam, in addition to the Government, are deeply involved in understanding important practical aspects of international trade policy. This can be the basis for yet more momentum for Viet Nam to build more widespread domestic capacity ... for improving its economic opportunities in the global trading system.”

The WTO Chairs Programme gives up to CHF 50,000 per annum for a period of four years to beneficiary institutions. It facilitates continuous interaction between the awardees and other think tanks across the world. The awardees provide students, civil society and other stakeholders with a deeper understanding of trade policy issues, disseminate research, promote discussions on international trade and trade co-operation, and provide analytical input into the formulation and implementation of trade policy. The awardees also act as partners with the WTO Secretariat for delivering WTO technical assistance activities.

During his visit, DDG Singh also delivered a lecture on the theme “The Global Trading System after the Financial Crisis: Implications for Developing Countries”. The ceremony was attended by Mr Nguyen Cam Tu, Vice-Minister of Industry and Trade, together with leaders of UEB, senior government officials, local scholars, representatives from trade policy-making agencies and students.

In reference to the economic crisis, DDG Singh said: “The crucial problems faced by our world today have to be addressed multilaterally and developing countries have to be active participants in managing global issues. This was clearly evident in the efforts to deal with the financial crisis. Experience after the financial crisis has highlighted the continued importance of keeping global trade open, together with appropriate domestic regulatory policies, because global trade still provides major opportunities for both recovery and growth. The multilateral trading system, or the WTO, is therefore even more important today. Through the existing WTO disciplines and the pro-active steps taken within its framework, the WTO system showed its great value as part of the multilateral efforts to limit the likely adverse effects of the crisis and create better conditions for recovery.

“A successful result in the WTO’s Doha Round negotiations offers significant possibilities for further strengthening the multilateral trading system together with additional opportunities for all, developed and developing countries, to better achieve their aspirations and play a more constructive role in the world economy. A successful Doha Round will correct a number of remaining distortions in the trading system and create a more level playing field. It will also build better foundations for more effective multilateral management of issues, which will further increase in importance over time.”