Hanoi, Vietnam — May 5, 2025
This morning, at the Melia Hotel in Hanoi, the Vietnam Banking Times, in collaboration with the State Bank of Vietnam, hosted the high-level conference “Positioning Vietnam’s Banks as Global Brands”. The event attracted prominent leaders, experts, and innovators in the financial and technological sectors.
Moderated by Mr. Pham Thanh Ha, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, the conference featured distinguished speakers, including Professor John Quelch of Harvard Business School, Co-founder of the Boston Global Forum (BGF), and Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Co-Chair and CEO of BGF.
In his keynote address, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan introduced transformative strategies to elevate Vietnamese banks to the global stage. Central to his presentation were two pioneering initiatives developed by BGF: AIWS Government 24/7 and the Boston Finance Accord for AI Governance 24/7.
Mr. Tuan emphasized that AIWS Government 24/7 offers a new model for seamless, transparent, and ethical digital governance — positioning banks as leaders in trust, responsibility, and customer-centric innovation. Meanwhile, the Boston Finance Accord for AI Governance 24/7, unveiled at Harvard University on April 22, 2025, provides a framework for integrating AI into financial systems with integrity and global best practices, turning finance into a true force for good.
By adopting these frameworks, Vietnamese banks can strengthen their global brand through ethical AI-driven solutions, sustainable finance initiatives, and active participation in shaping the digital economy. Mr. Tuan also stressed that aligning with BGF’s global initiatives will enable Vietnam’s financial institutions to forge deeper international partnerships and contribute to emerging global economic alliances.
The conference highlighted the strategic importance of innovation, ethics, and global collaboration in advancing Vietnam’s banking sector, and marked a critical step toward establishing Vietnam as a leading force in the global financial landscape in the AI Age.
Boston, MA – May 04, 2025 – The Boston Global Forum (BGF) has announced the launch of efforts to develop the Foundational AIWS Economic Charter for the New Economic Alliance (NEA), a groundbreaking initiative uniting the United States of America, Japan, India, Vietnam, South Korea, the European Union, and the United Kingdom. This charter, guided by the Artificial Intelligence World Society (AIWS), aims to establish a rules-based economic framework rooted in transparency, fairness, sustainability, and innovation.
The charter’s development began with preliminary discussions led by BGF, leveraging its global network of distinguished leaders, including Governor Michael Dukakis, former US presidential candidate and Massachusetts Governor, and Enrico Letta, former Prime Minister of Italy. The BGF Summit, scheduled for early November 2025 in Boston, will host the charter’s adoption and ratification, marking a pivotal step toward economic collaboration among NEA members.
The AIWS Economic Charter will integrate AIWS’s Social Contract for the AI Age, ensuring AI-driven economic activities—such as trade platforms, financial systems, and technological innovations—prioritize societal good. It outlines commitments to ethical AI in trade, finance, and technology, including the deployment of AI-driven trade platforms for transparent supply chain management and the development of green investment platforms predicting ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) impacts. The charter will also establish an AIWS Economic Council to oversee implementation and ensure alignment with its principles.
“This initiative reflects BGF’s commitment to ethical governance and global cooperation,” said Governor Dukakis. “By uniting these nations under a shared economic vision, we can address challenges like climate change and technological disruption with innovative, fair solutions.”
The charter’s development builds on BGF’s recent successes, including the Boston Finance Accord for AI Governance 24/7, announced in April 2025 at Harvard. With AIWS’s expertise and BGF’s leadership, the NEA aims to foster resilient economic ties, counter external pressures, and promote sustainable growth across member nations.
For more information, contact the Boston Global Forum at [email protected]
Boston Global Forum Conference
Boston Finance Accord for AI Governance 24/7
Harvard University Loeb House, 17 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA
April 22, 2025
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my profound privilege to honor an extraordinary individual whose vision, courage, and brilliance have reshaped the landscape of governance and freedom in the AI Age—Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s Cyber Ambassador, the world’s first nonbinary cabinet official, and the Boston Global Forum’s 2025 World Leader in AIWS Award recipient.
Audrey, your journey is nothing short of inspiring. A child prodigy mastering mathematics at six and programming by eight, you were a Silicon Valley innovator by nineteen. Yet, it is your fusion of technical genius with a deep commitment to pluralism and democracy—nurtured in a pro-democracy family—that truly sets you apart. You saw the internet not just as code, but as a bridge to unite people through shared dreams, a vision you’ve carried from Taiwan to the world.
Your impact is transformative. Through Taiwan’s g0v civic tech community, you pioneered platforms like Join.gov.tw, empowering citizens to shape policies—from tax software to cancer treatment reforms—with unprecedented transparency. During the 2014 Sunflower Movement, your livestreaming of a controversial trade pact turned deliberation into a public act of courage, cementing Taiwan as Asia’s beacon of freedom. In the face of COVID-19, your ingenuity—think mask maps and fact-checking tools—showed the world how technology can serve humanity with clarity and compassion.
As a “conservative anarchist,” you’ve redefined governance, blending radical openness with practical wisdom. Your leadership in Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs and now as Cyber Ambassador has made collective decision-making a reality, inspiring the AI World Society’s vision of Government 24/7. Just last month, at the 4th Shinzo Abe Conference in Tokyo, your insights enriched our Boston Finance Accord—a testament to your global influence, recognized by TIME Magazine’s 2023 Top 100 AI Influential People and today’s AIWS Award.
Audrey, you’ve said you aim to be a “good enough ancestor for future generations.” To us, you are already a guiding light, honoring Shinzo Abe’s legacy of innovation and cooperation while forging a path toward global enlightenment. On behalf of the Boston Global Forum, I salute you for your unwavering dedication to transparency, inclusion, and a better tomorrow. Thank you, Audrey Tang, for inspiring us all.
Ukraine managed to wrangle some more favorable terms out of the United States before signing the long-awaited minerals deal on Wednesday.
The agreement on natural resources was finally struck late on Wednesday, after weeks of tense bargaining that at times turned sour and temporarily halted Washington’s aid to Ukraine.
Kyiv eventually convinced US President Donald Trump to drop some of his key demands but failed to make American security guarantees part of the agreement.
Ukrainian officials touted the final accord as an equal partnership between Kyiv and Washington – a notable shift from some of the earlier drafts which were described by Ukraine’s leader President Volodymyr Zelensky as the US asking him to “sell my country.”
The signed deal, seen by CNN, does indeed appear to be more favorable to Ukraine than some of the previous versions. Here’s what we know.
Aid: Crucially, the deal does not call for Kyiv to reimburse the US for the aid it has already received – a key concession from Trump who has long framed the agreement as Ukraine “paying back” the US.
Natural resources: The deal gives the US preferential rights to mineral extraction in Ukraine and states that Kyiv will have the final say in what and where is being mined. Ukraine will also retain the ownership of the subsoil.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko pose after signing the minerals deal in Washington on April 30, 2025.
At the Boston Global Forum (BGF) Conference on April 22, 2025, Cameron Sabet, a member of the Enlightenment in Action Alliance (EAA), delivered a compelling address introducing the Boston Finance Accord for AI Governance 24/7, a groundbreaking framework aimed at embedding trust, ethics, and human values into AI-driven finance.
Sabet began by emphasizing the urgency of the moment, noting that AI’s rapid integration into global finance has created a critical trust gap. With algorithms moving money faster than regulations and eroding public confidence, he argued that finance requires not future promises, but continuous, transparent, and ethical governance—24/7.
The Boston Finance Accord, he explained, is designed as a practical solution to this challenge. Rooted in AI World Society (AIWS) principles and strengthened by international collaboration, the Accord offers a citizen-centered framework for ethical AI finance. Key innovations include:
Trust Score and Peace Finance Index: Tools to measure transparency, fairness, and social impact.
AIWS Citizen Forum: Enabling public participation through AI-assisted deliberation.
Boston Ethics Finance Protocol (BEFP): Establishing global standards for AI auditing and eliminating spaces for unethical practices.
Sabet highlighted the global nature of the initiative, noting its ties to the Tokyo Accord and its alignment with G7, G20, and Indo-Pacific nations’ efforts. Pilot programs are already underway, signaling tangible progress.
He concluded with a call to action, inviting governments, financial institutions, and global stakeholders to engage with the Accord, participate in its forums, and help shape a future where AI in finance enhances human dignity, trust, and inclusion.
“Finance must be a force that protects communities and fosters integrity around the clock,” Sabet affirmed. “Now is the time for leadership and global collaboration.”
