 General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong makes a speech at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in 2012. (Photo: Tri Dung/VNA) |
Mr. Mahbubani said he believes this was the reason Mr. Trong was “one of Vietnam’s most successful leaders.”
He said one of Mr. Trong’s strongest imprints was his careful thinking about how Vietnam can achieve economic growth. In many ways, one of the wisest decisions Vietnam made at the end of the Cold War was to switch to economic development and seek partners like Singapore to cooperate with.
Mr. Mahbubani said that not every country with resources is as developed as Vietnam. Vietnam’s success under Mr. Trong’s leadership showed that the country had talented leaders who made wise decisions to promote economic development and bring about a more prosperous life.
Mr. Mahbubani, who has studied geopolitics for more than 50 years, gave high marks to Vietnam’s external policy under General Secretary Trong’s leadership and Vietnam’s ability to navigate the increasingly complex international and regional geopolitical environment. He said there are only a few countries in the world that have a wise geopolitical strategy, and Vietnam is one of them.
