From November 11-19, GMF took a group of journalists to Vietnam and Cambodia to gain deeper understanding of the main issues facing these two countries in Southeast Asia. American and European writers gained a comprehensive view of the economic and political challenges in the two countries by meeting with government officials, business leaders, NGOs, local journalists, and students. Be sure to check out the GMF Blog posts related to this trip.

The January 2007 accession of Vietnam into the WTO has changed the face of the country significantly; FDI is pouring in while the country continues to open its economy and implement administrative reforms. At the same time Vietnam is still a one-party, socialist state with neither official opposition nor free media.  Throughout the last decade Vietnam has become one of Southeast Asia's leading exporters of seafood, garments, and footwear. The country has undergone an economic reform similar to that of China, with whom Vietnam has close political and economic ties. Vietnam and China share large trade flows and Vietnam has considerable trade deficit with China. Vietnam's biggest challenges are education and infrastructure: Vietnam lacks an educated work force, which is dominated by low-skilled workers. There is high demand for educated workers but the education system has been unable to keep up with demand. Vietnam is also missing infrastructure, such as new roads, seaports, and airports, which is slowly becoming an economic bottle neck. Lastly, corruption is a problem that keeps potential FDI out of the country.

Cambodia was ruined socioeconomically after the Vietnam War and after the country's brutal Khmer Rouge dictatorship. Almost two million Cambodians, one fifth of the population, were killed by the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979. The country has just started to come to terms with its past; the first trials began in November 2007.  Economically, Cambodia relies heavily on its garment sector and Angkor Wat, an ancient temple that is the country's main tourist attraction. 355,000 Cambodians work in the garment sector and, altogether, 1.7 million Cambodians depend on the sector, which is home to Cambodia's economic niche: its "state of the art" program on labor standards. The program started when Cambodia and the United States signed a bilateral textile agreement at the end of the 1990s, linking trade privileges to working conditions. The agreement still shapes the Cambodian garment industry and the ILO's "Better Factories Cambodia" program. Despite its weak institutions and rampant corruption, Cambodia has solid growth rates. International experts fear that these "homemade" problems will increase since significant oil and gas reserves have recently been found offshore.

Articles that appeared as a result of this trip are available below:
Organization Woman, by Dan Gross (Newsweek)
The Corporate Challenges of Economic Growth, by Dan Gross (Slate)
The Glorious Airports of Southeast Asia, by Dan Gross (Slate)
First-Class Airports! Guess Where?, by Dan Gross (Newsweek)
Vietnam living its own Asian success story, by Dan Lynch (USA Today)
In Vietnam, Old Foes Take Aim at War's Toxic Legacy, by Anthony Faiola (Washington Post)
The Surviving Lieutenants Of Cambodia's Pol Pot, by Anthony Faiola (Washington Post)
Justice too long delayed, Elizabeth Becker (International Herald Tribune)
Europa sucht Nähe zum Wirtschaftsstar Vietnam, by Helmut Hauschild (Handelsblatt)