HANOI, Feb. 6 (Vietnam News/ANN): Vietnam has set itself the goal of accelerating the development of science and technology for the period 2021-30 with the establishment of modern research and development centers in the sectors public and private as the main mission. goal.
Technology and innovation play a key role in improving the productivity, product quality and competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises as well as in the socio-economic development of the country, said the vice minister of science and technology Le Xuan Dinh, adding that policy frameworks to regulate and encourage investment in science and technology were of great importance, especially as the world entered the fourth industrial revolution.
Dinh said his ministry has launched a number of programs to help enterprises develop and adopt modern technologies and lay the foundation for Vietnam’s advanced technological application as well as the development of artificial intelligence.
In order to achieve these goals, the ministry said the private sector has an important role to play in development and application, especially in key sectors such as agriculture, health, industrial production and telecommunications. .
The pandemic, which hit Vietnam particularly hard in 2021, has forced domestic businesses to double digitization efforts and use advanced technologies to adapt to the new normal and prolonged periods of lockdown and mobility restrictions.
The year 2021 has seen the rapid development of the country’s digital infrastructure and applications in response to social distancing requirements and businesses’ efforts to maintain operations.
Vietnam’s start-up scene has also seen thousands of new companies enter the field with local technology to compete globally, he said.
The government has set up centers in 13 cities and provinces to support Vietnamese start-ups, including the establishment of the National Start-up Support Center, which has been tasked with creating a start-up support network in across the country.
Vietnam ranked 44/132 in the Global Innovation Index in 2021 with more than 18,500 science and technology breakthroughs, a 2.5 percent increase from the previous year.
Science and Technology Minister Huynh Thanh Dat said investment in Vietnamese tech start-ups hit a record high of US$1.3 billion in 2021. Vietnamese researchers and scientists around the world have established a support network to nurture the Vietnamese start-up ecosystem and connect with the global start-up scene.
Dat urged government agencies to actively engage with Vietnamese intellectuals to find solutions to issues related to the country’s socio-economic development.
He also called on research institutes and universities to provide additional support for Vietnamese start-ups.
The minister said it was to launch a pilot program to introduce scientific research institutions to Vietnam with the aim of better connecting the business and scientific sectors.
Local governments, especially those in remote and isolated parts of the country, need to redouble their efforts to adopt and implement technologies and innovations to make the most of their locality’s competitive advantages.
For its part, the ministry will continue to support them in putting them in contact with potential foreign partners, in improving the quality and safety of products and in securing access to foreign markets, in particular for Vietnamese agricultural products.
The ministry will also help Vietnamese companies register and protect their intellectual property in overseas markets.
In 2021, Vietnam successfully registered a number of brands in the Japanese, European and American markets, including Luc Ngan lychee and Bình Thuan dragon fruit.
Dạt advised localities to identify and invest in only a few products with which they enjoy great competitive advantages.
The next step is to seek public or private sector partners, preferably with technological expertise and capabilities, to help further develop their products to improve quality and generate added value, he said. -he adds. – Vietnam News/ANN
