Phan Van Khai remembered as PM who kindled Vietnam's economic reform and integration

ABO/NDO - Former Deputy PM Vu Khoan recalls his memories of former PM Phan Van Khai, whom he describes as both a leader and an elder brother who passed on to him a great deal of experience and valuable lessons on work and life.

Former Prime Minister Phan Van Khai.

“I had the chance to work with him directly since the 1990s, when he moved to Hanoi to assume the posts as chairman of the State Planning Commission and later Deputy Prime Minister. My contact with him was even closer when he was elected Prime Minister.

In my mind, Brother Khai was not a blazing flame but a quiet and persistent furnace of fire that nourished the Doi Moi reform and Vietnam’s international integration.

As a member of the leadership of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest economic hub, he and his colleagues kindled the first fire, which later burnt fiercely and spread to the entire nation. As head of the State Planning Commission and later the Government, he was given even more power to push for this great cause, which would transform the nation’s socio-economic situation and position on the international arena.

It is extraordinary that he was educated on the planned economy in the former Soviet Union but was one of the early adopters of market mechanisms as the way forward for economic reform in Vietnam.

While working with him directly and during informal conversations, I understood that his approach came from a combination of foundational knowledge, Vietnam’s economic realities and international experience. He was one of the few Vietnamese leaders who had learnt about the market economy in a number of regional countries in the early years of the Doi Moi economic reform and at a time when Vietnam remained isolated from the world.

But he demonstrated his abilities. Brother Khai became Prime Minister in 1997 when the regional economic crisis broke out, putting Vietnam’s economy under threat. Based on his foundational knowledge and the experience of other countries, he paid close attention to maintaining macroeconomic balances between money supply and goods, revenue and spending, and exports and imports.

I still remember the image of him meticulously analysing balance sheets, discussing with Government members and experts, and talking with the leaders of China, Japan and Singapore on how to respond to the crisis. Vietnam managed to overcome the crisis and move forward thanks in large part to his contributions.

Fully aware that internal strength is the key factor to economic growth, Brother Khai helped shape major policies and take practical actions to reform State-owned enterprises and unbind the strings that tied up the private sector. Under his direct leadership, the Law on Enterprises 1999 and the amended Law on Investment 2002 were born, creating an impetus for the development of the private and foreign-invested sectors. He also worked hard to carry out state enterprise reform through equitisation, although what was achieved fell short of his expectations.

As a modest man, who was never satisfied with what he had done, he always thought about what he had yet to achieve. In private talks, he always felt a sense of unease about the fact that Vietnam was still a poor country, with the farmers and those living in remote areas still facing a lot of hardships. When I was in the Government, I was responsible for ethnic affairs and was able to witness his close attention to poverty reduction and his willingness to provide funds to support people in remote regions.

As head of the Government, it was his inherent duty to take care of social issues. For me, I was particularly impressed by his approach in dealing with territorial issues, including the East Sea dispute, and religious issues, which were my responsibilities while working at the Foreign Ministry and in the Government.

As a highly critical issue, the negotiations and measures to safeguard territorial integrity always received direct instructions of the Politburo, but the guidelines and implementation were all under the direct instructions of the Prime Minister. Thanks to both his cautious and visionary instructions, Vietnam was able to resolve the issues on land border and the Gulf of Tonkin with China during his premiership.

He also introduced many key policies to protect the Vietnamese border, sovereignty and sovereign rights on the East Sea, to improve the life of residents in border and island areas, and build the border patrol road and defence economic unit.

Another complex issue was the sabotage of a number of forces under the cloak of religion. In order to prevent these activities, Brother Khai adopted a rather open policy, under which the authorities needed to take active and proactive actions to take care of the people’s spiritual life so as to prevent wicked forces from exploiting the religious issue, thereby foiling their plots and maintaining political stability.

During Brother Khai’s premiership, Vietnam took a wide range of actions to integrate with the world for the first time, such as hosting the ASEAN Summit, joining APEC and hosting a summit, hosting the ASEM Summit, signing the Vietnam-US bilateral trade agreement, as well as the first visit to the US by a head of the Vietnamese Government and joining the World Trade Organisation. Each of these major events saw a strong mark of the former PM.

At the ASEAN Summit in 1998, the member countries accepted his solution of allowing Cambodia’s entry into the bloc in principle, while the admission ceremony would be held in the following year, paving the way for expanding ASEAN membership to the whole region.

At the ASEM Summit, Vietnam and the European Union agreed on the conclusion of Vietnam’s negotiations on WTO accession and a bilateral trade agreement which would open a huge market for Vietnamese goods. His visit to the United States elevated Vietnam’s relationship with the world’s largest superpower to a new height, while at the same time opened the way for the conclusion of negotiations on Vietnam’s accession to the WTO and the granting of the permanent normal trade relations to Vietnam.

Behind such major events are Brother Khai’s physical and mental efforts as head of the Government, who took personal responsibility for every task, big or small.

His working style was very special. He worked diligently, seldom boasted about himself, rarely got angry and always listened attentively to the opinions of his colleagues, experts and international friends.

As a modest man, when offering to resign early, he frankly admitted what he failed to achieve, such as the economy’s poor performance and low competitiveness, a low-quality education system, the degradation in cultural life, social relations and the environment, the life of residents in mountainous areas, as well as the delays and flaws in building a rules-based state, administrative reforms and the promotion of democracy. He was deeply troubled by rampant bureaucracy, wastefulness and embezzlement in the civil service.

Another feature of his style was the trust in his colleagues and subordinates, which would encourage them to think out of the box, take action and responsibility, and create an atmosphere of unity and eagerness in the workplace.

In his private life and personal relationship, Brother Khai was a humble and unpretentious man who never put on airs. His personality was also reflected is his strong bond with both his Vietnamese and Russian teachers and with the local residents where he used to work and live in both the north and south.

The success of the Doi Moi reform and Vietnam’s international integration is the effort of many, of which Brother Khai made a substantial contribution in many aspects. Like the renowned musician Trinh Cong Son wrote in one of his songs “To live one’s life, one needs a heart”, former PM Khai also had a heart for his people, country, Party, comrades, colleagues and friends. His kind heart will remain in everyone’s minds even though he has gone to his resting place.”

Vu Khoan

(Source: NDO)