That was the statement of First Deputy Governor Dao MinhTu of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) at the Alumni Meeting in Hanoi for the former students and current participants in the SBV’s training programs sponsored by Luxembourg.
On October 31, 2019 in Hanoi, within the framework of the 18th anniversary of the signing of the training cooperation protocol between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, an Alumni Meeting for the former students and participants in Hanoi was co-organised by the Central Banking Training School, the International Cooperation Department, the Organisation and Personnel Department, and the Project Management Board of Project Vie/032 "Enhancing the Cpacity in the Financial Sector", in collaboration with The Financial Technology Transfer Agency Luxembourg (ATTF - House of Training) to mark the 20th year of the bilateral cooperation between the ATTF and the SBV.
Attending the Alumni Meeting, on the side of the SBV, there were First Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu, Vice Chairman Pham Hong Son of the State Securities Commission, leaders and representatives of the Organisation and Personnel Department, the International Cooperation Department, the Emulation and Reward Department, the Central Banking Training School, the Project Management Board of Project Vie/032 "Enhancing Capacity in the Financial Sector", etc.. From the Luxembourg side there were Mr. Tran Hong Quang, Honorary Consul, Mr. Ben Lyon, Director of the House of Training under the Financial Technology Transfer Agency Luxembourg (ATTF), as well as the former students and current participants of ATTF Luxembourg training programs.
Delivering the opening remarks at the Alumni Meeting, Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu expressed his sincere thanks for the valuable support to the banking industry from the Government of Luxembourg and the ATTF for nearly 20 years.
Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu stated that the relationship between Vietnam and Luxembourg is one of the typical examples of an international friendship, overcoming all political and geographical distance, since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1973, a time when Vietnam was facing numerous difficulties from the war of national liberation and reunification.
After over 45 years, Luxembourg is currently one of Vietnam's important partners in the European Union. At the same time, the two sides have always raised voice to support each other in the international fora. Since 1993, the Government of Luxembourg has started various ways to support the development of Vietnam, with many meaningful aids, contributing to the socio-economic development achievements of Vietnam. Especially, in November 2017, the representatives of the two Governments signed a Framework Agreement on development cooperation, creating a framework for mutually beneficial cooperation that surpasses the previous traditional cooperation; and the banking-finance industry is one of the cooperation areas that would be focused in the new phase.
The Deputy Governor stated that after nearly 20 years implementing the cooperation training programs between the ATTF and the SBV, these programs have been considered as evidence of the success in supporting capacity building for Vietnam's banking system, supporting the development of the banking and financial sector.
Nearly 3,000 officials of the Vietnamese banking system have undergone training courses within this cooperation framework, many of whom are holding very important management positions, including Chairpeople, General Directors and Deputy General Directors of many Vietnamese commercial banks. "The training program designed by the ATTF experts has met the needs of the officials of the banking industry in order to enhance their professional knowledge and management skills. In particular, the program is also a forum for the participants to exchange and share their knowledge and practical experience with the international financial and banking experts, as well as with colleagues from many banks and financial institutions”, said the Deputy Governor.
The Deputy Governor also said that the most typical of the effective and professional cooperation training programs supported by the Government of Luxembourg should be the courses on key operations in commercial bank governance that have been organised since 2005. This is one of the programs evaluated as a standard international training course in Vietnam, with 1,143 participants up to now.
Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu stressed: “In the context that the banking system of Vietnam is facing with very big challenges, it is required that the capacity of the staff and managers must be enhanced. Therefore, I believe that the continuation of the regular Alumni Meeting like this will be an interesting forum to maintain good relationship, strengthen the connections and co-operation, so they can exchange, share experience and update knowledge from the ATTF experts and other colleagues in banking industry, who are former students and participants in the cooperation training programs at the ATTF”.
Another factor contributing significantly to the success of these training programs has been the close coordination and dedication over the past 15 years (since 2001) of Ms. Tisiana Baguet, as the Program Coordinator, who has maintained and developed the technical assistance programs provided by ATTF Luxembourg to the SBV, and the training cooperation activities from the Luxembourg Government for Vietnam to develop high-quality human resources with European-standards in the Vietnamese banking industry, as well as to effectively create a network of experience sharing among the banking managers, which was highly evaluated by the students over the past years. Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu, on behalf of the SBV Governor, awarded the Governor's Certificate of Merit to Ms. Tisiana Baguet.
Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu, on behalf of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, awarded the Certificate of Merit to Ms. Tisiana Baguet
ATTF Luxembourg - House of Training is also one of the leading foreign organizations among the international sponsors providing support to the SBV’s capacity training. The total number of training courses and seminars supported by the ATTF has made up of 10% of the total number of the standard international courses organized by the Central Banking Training School.
Since 2001, the cooperation training programs between the SBV and the ATTF have been successfully implemented with nearly 3,000 trainees, and are still going on.
Through the courses organized by the SBV in coordination with the ATTF, Vietnamese banking and finance officials have been able to acquire updated and advanced knowledge from the senior experts of major European financial institutions. The management officials and professional staff from the different banks and entities have been able to improve their qualifications, knowledge, professional and management skills, meeting the new requirements emerged with the process of international economic integration for the financial and banking industry of Vietnam.
The Alumni Meeting 2019 is an important event marking the achievements, continuation and development of training cooperation between the Government of Vietnam and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Government for the finance and banking sector.