Geneva (VNA) – The World Economic Forum(WEF) will expand cooperation with Vietnam in 2019, which will be momentum forthe two sides to strengthen their partnership in the time ahead, according toJustin Wood, head of the WEF’s Regional Agenda – Asia Pacific.

Justin Wood, who is also member of the WEF’s Executive Committee, madestatement in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency ahead of Prime MinisterNguyen Xuan Phuc’s trip to Switzerland to attend the WEF Annual Meeting 2019 inDavos (Davos 2019) from January 22-25.

The two sides will reach two important partnership agreements during the forum,covering the management of plastic waste, which remains a headache of alleconomies, he said.

The WEF has developed different initiatives and projects in an effort to bringbusinesses and governments closer to manage plastic waste, and build up commonperception of responsibility for plastic waste, towards a more sustainable andresponsible economy, Wood noted.

He said PM Phuc would hope to apply these initiatives in Vietnam to help thecountry manage the plastic economy in the most effective way, and share themwith the whole Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Vietnam’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020 would be an opportunity to roll out theinitiatives in the regional scale, Wood noted.

The other agreement will target cooperation in the fourth IndustrialRevolution, Wood said, adding that the WEF has, to date, built four centres forthe Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) worldwide, with the headquarters basedin San Francisco, the US.

The centres aim to connect governments with corporate leaders to seek treatmentmethods towards technologies in the most responsible manner, bringing the mostinterests to the society and ensuring that cutting-edge technologies are usedfor right purposes.  

Wood highlighted the fruitful relations between the WEF and Vietnam, which hasbeen reflected in 2018, with the WEF on ASEAN as the spotlight.

The two sides are partnering in many spheres with valid projects in Vietnamcovering food industry, infrastructure and the fourth Industrial Revolution, hesaid.

They are working on ways to improve the quality of Vietnamese farm produce,increase investment in Vietnam’s infrastructure and apply achievements of thefourth Industrial Revolution in Vietnam.

Mentioning cooperation within the public-private partnership (PPP) agreementsigned by the WEF and the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Davos in2017, Wood said the WEF will continue to work together with Vietnam to extendthe collaboration until 2020.

The deal has laid a foundation for the two sides’ affiliation, and it has beenrealised effectively with the above-mentioned projects, he said.

Wood last visited Vietnam in November 2018 to discuss the relations between theWEF and Vietnam, including the possible establishment of a branch of the C4IRin the Southeast Asian nation.-VNA