Question

Imagine that you are an executive with a multinational corporation that wants to open a manufacturing facility in an underdeveloped country. You have been assigned the responsibility of preparing a report on the suitability of a particular country for investment. Your company is concerned with the investment climate in this country, but is equally interested in the political stability, social and cultural environment since it will be making a substantial financial commitment. Your corporation views this is not only an opportunity to make a profit, but also as a humanitarian effort to help improve the standard of living in a lesser-developed country. Country of choice, is Vietnam

Other Questions:

• What are the most important political, economic, environmental, and human rights issues facing your country?
• Is your country in conflict with its neighbors or other countries?
• What are its relations with major global powers—the US, Europe, and China, for example?

Answer 1

Since the country of choice is Vietnam, let us go through questions one by one.

Political issues:
Under the current constitution, the Communist Party of Vietnam is the only one allowed to rule, the operation of all other political parties being outlawed. Property disputes regarding no man's land remain Vietnam's biggest political issues.

Environmental issues:
The aftermath of the Vietnam War has severely degraded the environmental resources. Rapid industrialisation is also to blame for this. The main issues faced by the country are: land degradation, forest degradation, loss of biodiversity, water pollution and air pollution. Vietnam happens to be one of the countries most impacted by climate change.

Human rights issues:
"In its 2004 report on Human Rights Practices, the U.S. State Department characterized Vietnam's human rights record as "poor" and cited the continuation of "serious abuses."" The Vietnamese government has imposed restrictions on freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association. Freedom of expression remains a problem as the Vietnamese authorities continue to use tough national security laws to punish critics of the regime. Media is tightly controlled by government censorship. Demonstrations and strikes are not legal as per the Constitution. The country holds more than 160 political prisoners whose only crimes were voicing dissent against the government. Vietnam's human rights situation seriously deteriorated in 2017.

Is it in conflict with its neighbors?
While Vietnam has remained relatively conflict-free since the second Indochina war, tensions have arisen in the past between Vietnam and its neighbors, especially in the case of China since both nations assert claims to an oil-rich archipelago. It faces mild disputes with its neighbors over undefined boundaries, but has peaceful relations otherwise.

While the US fought in the Vietnam War, both countries have buried the hatchet and maintain cordial relations. With China, Vietnam has had several disputes regarding the oil-rich archipelago.

Hope this helped!