The series of events were organized by Southeast Asia Center of Asia-Pacific Excellence (Cape) aiming at providing an overview on current situation in Southeast Asia as well as building mutual knowledge and understanding between New Zealand and Asia.
On 7th February 2019, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Duc Thanh engaged in the topic "Recent Developments in the Vietnam Economy: Implications for Business and Trade" at Waikato University, Hamilton, New Zealand. The presentation attracted interest from a number of scholars in macroeconomics, economic growth and institutional reforms in New Zealand. The mayor of Hamilton also attended and commented on land issues in Vietnam.
Afterward, on 13th February, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Duc Thanh joined two other guests of ASEAN@50: Dr. Thitinan Pongsudhirak and Dr. Aries Arugay to chair the seminar on "ASEAN's Future: Security, Economics and Regional Governance" at Auckland University. Participants of the seminar included students, civil servants, scholars and reporters, who found interest in the topic and gave a lot of questions.
On February 18th, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Duc Thanh attended the internal forum under the theme "The Rise of the Indo-Pacific". The forum was within the framework of the ASEAN@ 50 Fellowship held at the headquarters of the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).