Deputy PM discusses economic strategy with Harvard scholars   Deputy PM discusses economic strategy with Harvard scholars (Photo: VNA) Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh and his entourage held a discussion with leading professors at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 18 on Vietnam’s economic growth strategy. In an open atmosphere, the Harvard professors suggested Vietnam change its growth model from focussing on investment and bank credits to one rested on renovations. They also highlighted the crucial need for reforming economic institutions, with a focus on state-run enterprises, public investment policy and the banking sector. Regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, Professor David King advised Vietnam and other negotiating countries to pay special attention to the US public. Collaboration with groups in the US that share the same interests should be boosted in a joint effort to accelerate the signing of the agreement, he said. The US scholars acknowledged Vietnam’s socio-economic development successes and global economic integration, holding out hope that Vietnam would maintain its positive growth in the coming years. During the discussion, the Vietnamese officials and the US professors also talked about the current political situation in the US; compared Vietnam to countries of a similar development level, like India and Indonesia; and came up with lessons for Vietnam’s economy. Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh is on a working visit to the US from September 15-19 in a bid to move the negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) forward and bolster the two countries’ economic ties.-VNA