On 12 July 2023, the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC) had a working session with representatives of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at the Head Office of VIAC in Hanoi.
Dr. Vu Tien Loc, Chairman and President of the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC), along with Mr. Phan Trong Dat, Acting Director of Vietnam Mediator Centre (VMC) – a division of VIAC, and representatives of specialized functional departments at VIAC have a working session with delegates of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The meeting also had the presence of Mr. Donal Lambert ADB Principal Private Sector Development Specialist, Prof. Akash Deep, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University, Ms. Lynn Tho – EY ASEAN Infrastructure Advisory Leader, representatives from the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), and other experts.
Representatives from VIAC and ADB
During the working session, the attendees engaged in discussions on various topics concerning Public-Private partnership (PPP) contracts and dispute resolution related to those in Vietnam. They also discussed several issues regarding to the research project titled “Management of government contingent liabilities during implementation of the PPP projects in Vietnam”, which is a collaborative effort involving the ADB, the Australian Embassy in Vietnam, the Central Committee’s Economic Commission, and the MPI. The research is being conducted by an experts group included the participation of Prof. Akash Deep from Harvard University, experts from the Fulbright University Vietnam and Ernst & Young Singapore with the aim of proposing innovative policies for the better implementation of PPP projects in Vietnam.
In terms of research project implementation, the research team experts eported initial progress, highlighting the attainment of preliminary results. Based on these findings, the team has developed a plan and tentative proposed model for the management of the Government’s contingent liabilities and suggested this is a more reasonable approach to addressing the security obligations associated with PPPs. Prof. Akash Deep, as a representative of the research team, also provided additional insights on the anticipated research content plan to be carried out in the near future within the project framework.
Dr. Vu Tien Loc – Chairman and President of VIAC, contributed to the discussion by sharing insights on the practice of PPP in Vietnam from the perspective of VIAC non-governmental organisation providing dispute resolution services through commercial mediation and arbitration and other alternative dispute resolutions (ADR) as provided by law.
Over the years, VIAC has been actively involved in supporting state agencies and investors – the two primarty actors in PPP projects, particularly focus on legal risk prevention and management, and dispute resolution. Besides, VIAC representatives provided details on the practice of resolving disputes arising from PPP projects in some specific sectors such as infrastructure, energy, etc., through mediation and arbitration at VIAC and VMC – a division of VIAC providing commercial mediation. VIAC expressed their hope that the discussion had furnished the research team with the requisite information for the forthcoming phase of the study.
VIAC representatives and the research group discussed in the working session
During the productive two-hour working session, both parties engaged in fruitful discussions regarding PPPs. Dr. Vu Tien Loc – Chairman and President of VIAC – expressed affirmation of the study and appreciation of the research’s effort to propose PPPs initiative policies in Vietnam. Both parties look forward to further discussions and working sessions to promote the law compliance of PPPs operation in Vietnam.
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