Vietnam Roundup: AI reshapes education, US partnership grows in Quảng Trị, Australia seeks deeper economic ties

Vietnam proposes four priorities for APEC food security cooperation

Vietnam has proposed four areas of cooperation to strengthen food security across the Asia-Pacific, as it prepares to host APEC in 2027. Minister of Agriculture and Environment Trịnh Việt Hùng presented the proposals at the 11th APEC Food Security Ministerial Meeting in Hangzhou, China, on August 25, which brought together agricultural leaders from all 21 APEC economies. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for nearly half of global food production and trade. Vietnam’s first proposal is to make agri-food supply chains more resilient and closely connected. The second calls for stronger innovation and digital transformation, including greater use of artificial intelligence, big data, biotechnology and precision agriculture. The third focuses on mobilising investment and financial resources so that successful agricultural pilot projects can be expanded rather than remaining small-scale experiments. Vietnam’s fourth priority is greater knowledge sharing, capacity building and cooperation between APEC forums.

Tô Lâm says AI will change teachers’ jobs but will not replace them

Vietnam’s General Secretary and President Tô Lâm says artificial intelligence will fundamentally change the classroom, but teachers will remain indispensable. Speaking on August 25 at a meeting reviewing the implementation of Resolution 71, a Politburo directive adopted a year earlier to overhaul education and training, Tô Lâm said schools should embrace AI and digital technology without allowing machines to replace the human role of educators. His argument was that as technology becomes increasingly capable of providing information, teachers will have to move away from simply transmitting facts. Their role should increasingly involve guiding how students reason, inspiring them, recognising individual talents and teaching them how to apply knowledge responsibly. He also warned against allowing students to outsource their thinking to AI. Technology, he argued, should instead encourage students to reason more deeply, become more creative and develop stronger problem-solving skills. The comments formed part of a wider criticism of Vietnam’s education system. Tô Lâm said progress over the first year of Resolution 71 had largely created the groundwork for reform but had not yet produced enough substantive change.

Quảng Trị asks US to deepen cooperation on war legacy and development

Vietnam’s central province of Quảng Trị is seeking stronger cooperation with the United States on mine clearance, war victims, missing soldiers and a wider range of development priorities. Chairman of the Quảng Trị provincial People’s Committee Lê Hồng Vinh held talks with newly appointed US Ambassador to Vietnam Jennifer Wicks on August 25, during what provincial authorities said was her first visit to a Vietnamese locality since beginning her tenure. Vinh highlighted longstanding US support for addressing the consequences of the Vietnam War, particularly the clearance of unexploded bombs and mines. He said that work had not only made communities safer but also opened contaminated land for economic and social development. Quảng Trị is now implementing its 2026–2035 Action Programme on Addressing the Post-war Bomb and Mine Legacy, with the ambitious goal of becoming Vietnam’s first locality to meet the criteria of a “mine-Safe province” by 2035. The province wants continued US assistance with mine surveys and clearance, mine-risk education, support for victims and capacity building for specialist agencies.

Trần Cẩm Tú ends Singapore visit with first strategic dialogue and technology agreement

Senior Communist Party official Trần Cẩm Tú concluded an official visit to Singapore on August 25 after the two countries held their first Vietnam-Singapore Strategic Dialogue, opening a new political channel for regular discussions between their ruling parties. Tú, a Politburo member and Permanent Member of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee’s Secretariat, travelled to Singapore at the invitation of the executive committee of Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party. During his visit, he met Prime Minister and PAP Secretary-General Lawrence Wong. The two sides agreed that the new Strategic Dialogue would provide a direct and regular channel for discussions on policymaking, governance, Party building, national development and major strategic issues. Tú also met Education Minister and PAP Chairman Desmond Lee, with talks covering science, technology, artificial intelligence, leadership training and governance. At a meeting with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the two sides identified technology, innovation, human resources and emerging industries as areas where their economies could complement each other.

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Vietnam and Australia look for new investment opportunities as economic ties deepen

Vietnam and Australia are looking for new areas of trade and investment cooperation as both governments seek to turn their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership into stronger commercial ties. The Australia-Vietnam Policy Institute Forum was held in Ho Chi Minh City on August 25 under the theme “Harnessing Australia–Vietnam Trade and Investment to Support Vietnam’s Rapid Growth Agenda.” It brought together policymakers, businesses and other organisations from both countries. Australian Consul-General in HCM City Kate Wallance pointed to Vietnam’s economic expansion, saying the country had become one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economies after recording 8% growth in 2025. She said Vietnam was also shifting towards growth driven more heavily by innovation and increasingly focusing on the quality rather than simply the speed of economic expansion. That includes trying to attract investment that brings technology transfer, workforce development and innovation while strengthening national resilience. Wallance said long-term expansion would require greater international cooperation and patient foreign capital.