The UP Asian Center and the Embassy of Vietnam in the Philippines will be hosting the onsite symposium, "From Neighbors to Partners: Celebrating 50 Years of Philippines-Vietnam Relations" on 18 August 2026, 2 PM, PHT, at the Seminar Room, UP Asian Center. The event is free and open to the public; refreshments will also be provided, but online registration is recommended due to limited slots.
ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM
The year 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of the Philippines and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Since 1976, the two countries have cultivated a dynamic and multifaceted partnership encompassing political dialogue, economic cooperation, maritime affairs, defense and security, education, cultural exchange, and people-to-people relations. As fellow ASEAN member states, the Philippines and Vietnam have worked together in advancing regional stability, prosperity, and cooperation while navigating shared challenges and opportunities in an evolving Indo-Pacific landscape. The golden anniversary of bilateral relations provides an opportune moment to reflect on the achievements of the past five decades while exploring future avenues for cooperation. Beyond state-to-state relations, the Philippines and Vietnam share deep cultural affinities as Southeast Asian societies shaped by rich historical traditions, colonial encounters, maritime connections, and contemporary aspirations for development and regional integration. This commemorative event seeks to bring together scholars, diplomats, students, cultural practitioners, and members of the public to examine the historical evolution, contemporary significance, and future prospects of Philippines– Vietnam relations through both academic and cultural lenses.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
H.E. LAI THAI BINH
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Lai Thai Binh is the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the Philippines. He served as a deputy director-general of the East Sea (South China Sea) Institute (Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam), the deputy consul-general of Vietnam in Houston, deputy director-general and assistant director-general at Americas Department in the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, director of the American research division, director and deputy director of the North America division, and as a Vietnam-U.S. relations desk officer. He earned a BA in international economics from Hanoi Foreign Trade University and a Ph.D. in International relations from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.
CAPT. MICO A. GALANG
Member, Corps of Professors, Armed Forces of the Philippines
Capt. Mico A. Galang is a member of the Corps of Professors, AFP. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from UST, and a Master in International Studies from the University of the Philippines-Diliman. He was a researcher at the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), and taught at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) and De La Salle University (DLSU).
JOSEF TEOFISTO T. YAP, Ph.D.
Senior Research Fellow, Ateneo School of Government
Josef T. Yap is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Ateneo School of Government. He was President of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, where he worked for 26 years until his retirement on June 30, 2013. While at PIDS, he specialized in macroeconomic policy and applied econometrics. Dr. Yap finished his undergraduate and doctoral studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman and went to the University of Pennsylvania on a postgraduate program. In 2010, Dr. Yap was honored as one of the 100 outstanding alumni of the UP Diliman College of Engineering as part of its Centennial celebration.
His current research interest centers on regional economic integration in East Asia and promoting energy security in the Philippines. Dr. Yap was the regional coordinator of the East Asian Development Network and was actively involved in the establishment of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). From 2019 – 2022, Dr. Yap was Senior Technical Advisor to the ASEP-CELLs Project (Access to Sustainable Energy Program, Clean Energy Living Laboratories) which was implemented under the auspices of the European Union and the Ateneo School of Government. He is co-author of the books The Philippine Economy: East Asia’s Stray Cat? Structure, Finance and Adjustment and Lessons from Nationalist Struggle: The Life of Emmanuel Quiason Yap.
GRACE T. CRUZ, Ph.D.
Professor, Population Institute, University of the Philippines Diliman
Dr. Grace T. Cruz is a Professor of Demography and UP Social Scientist II at the Population Institute, University of the Philippines Diliman. She has over three decades of academic and research experience, primarily centering on demographic research, with a particular emphasis on the aging population. Dr. Cruz was involved in three national studies of older Filipinos. Presently, she serves as the Project Investigator for the Longitudinal Study of Aging and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP), the first longitudinal study on aging conducted in the country. She was a co-project investigator of the 2007 Philippine Study on Aging.
Dr. Cruz holds a Ph.D. in Sociology, a Master’s degree in Demography, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics (cum laude), all earned from the University of the Philippines. She also completed a diploma program in Population and Development at the Institute for Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands. Dr. Cruz has several publications, with the majority of her recent work centered around the subject of population aging.
JOHN PAOLO R. RIVERA, Ph.D.
Senior Research Fellow, Philippine Institute for Development Studies
John Paolo Rivera, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and an experienced economist with a background in teaching and research in higher education. His extensive research portfolio covers Tourism Development, Poverty, Remittances and Migration, Entrepreneurship, and Development Economics. He has presented his research at numerous international and local academic conferences and has authored various scientific and technical publications. He has also been involved in commissioned research projects for national and international organizations, applying his expertise in economic research, econometrics, systems thinking, and strategy to contemporary development issues. In recognition of his contributions to the field, he was named the 2024 Outstanding Young Scientist in Economics by the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST).
ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS
This lecture is organized by the UP Asian Center. For inquiries, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 891-8500 loc. 3586