As part of the India Immersion program held from January 4 to 14, 2024, organized by O.P. Jindal Global University, the "INDIA trip" of UEB included participation from faculty, students, and postgraduates working and studying at the Department of Economics and International Business (FIBE), UEB. The first destination of the UEB delegation in the "Land of Colors" - India, was the Apeejay School of Management, Dwarka located in the capital New Delhi, aiming to jointly organize an International Workshop on "Business and International Trade between India - Vietnam". The workshop attracted participation from many universities, colleges, research institutes, and renowned publishers in India.

Before the official start of the workshop, Dr. Anuj Kumar and Dr. Pragya Arya - Assistant Professors at ASM invited Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Thanh Huong - Vice Dean of the Faculty of International Economics & Business - representing the Vietnamese delegation to the stage to perform the lamp lighting ceremony to inaugurate the workshop.

In his opening speech, Dr. Etinder Pal Singh - representing Apeejay School of Management expressed gratitude to the partner, VNU - UEB, along with distinguished guests and sponsors for attending the workshop. He emphasized, "We strive to build a culture of excellence and wish to promote some international partnerships. This thematic conference is a testament to how closely India and Vietnam are connected, opening many doors for employment and education."

Here, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Thanh Huong introduced to ASM and the guests attending the workshop more details about VNU - UEB, and the Faculty of International Economics and Business (FIBE). Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Thanh Huong highlighted that the University of Economics and Business is proud to be a main, leading contributor, affirming VNU's position in the QS Rankings top 501 - 550 in Business and Management Science and top 501-600 in the THE Rankings. The University of Economics and Business is also a pioneer in domestic student exchange with leading universities in Vietnam. One of the important focal points that FIBE and the University aim for is to enhance international cooperation and professional exchange with universities in the Asia region, especially in India.

At the workshop, postgraduate students from the Department of Economics and International Business (FIBE), UEB, contributed two papers. Master's student and Ph.D. candidate Tran Thi Thao presented on "Vietnam's agricultural supply chain for export and some logistics issues." The presentation analyzed the structure and characteristics of the components participating in Vietnam's agricultural export supply chain, the results of agricultural export activities, and affirmed the important role of logistics in the efficiency of the chain. The researcher also pointed out challenges and logistics issues that need improvement to enhance the efficiency of Vietnam's agricultural export supply chain, such as transportation problems, warehouse operations, and provision of value-added services, the formation of logistics centers serving procurement, processing, packaging, storage, as well as the capacity of logistics service providers serving the agricultural export supply chain.

Master's student and Ph.D. candidate Do Thi Minh Hue discussed the topic "Vietnamese Coffee Industry - The National Competitive Advantage and Factors Affecting Coffee Exports." The paper focused on key content such as: introducing the development history, contributions of the Vietnamese coffee industry to the national economy, the position of Vietnamese coffee in the world coffee industry map, the national competitive advantage of the Vietnamese coffee industry, followed by an analysis based on the National Competitive Advantage theory - Diamond Model proposed by economist Michael Porter. To leverage this advantage and promote the development of the Vietnamese coffee industry, understanding the factors affecting coffee export flows is crucial. A research model based on the gravity theory in international economics was proposed with assumptions along with discussions around econometric issues that may arise when conducting panel data regression.

After the presentations, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Thanh Huong and Dr. Nguyen Thi Nhu Ai, representing the Vietnamese delegation, participated in a roundtable discussion on the situation and prospects of business and trade cooperation between Vietnam and India.

During the discussion, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Thanh Huong shared about the economic development situation, economic integration policies, and the role of trade and investment for Vietnam. Trade and investment between Vietnam and India are not yet large, but there is a lot of potential as both sides have signed agreements to avoid double taxation and the Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement. The two countries are comprehensive strategic partners and members of the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement. Therefore, there is still much room to enhance bilateral economic trade and investment cooperation in the future. Especially, India is the 26th largest investor in Vietnam, and sectors with potential to attract investment from India include energy, digital technology, ancillary industries, logistics, etc.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Nhu Ai also believed that both sides could cooperate to develop agriculture and promote trade and investment in the agricultural sector.

Some images of the UEB delegation at the International Workshop organized at the Apeejay School of Management, India:

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