On the morning of October 28, the Prime Minister attended the inauguration ceremony of the new operating facility of the National Innovation Center (NIC) and the VIIE 2023 International Exhibition, at Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park (Hanoi).

Speaking at the ceremony, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that this is a very important and meaningful 2-in-1 event, concretizing the Party and State's guidelines and policies on promoting the development of science and technology and innovation; marking a new step of maturity of the National Innovation Center to meet the requirements and expectations of the Government in promoting science and technology and the national innovation ecosystem.

The beginning of a new phase of development

The Prime Minister emphasized that the world has been increasingly developing thanks to advances in science and technology and innovation. Innovation is an inevitable trend, a strategic choice, an objective requirement and a top priority for our country to realize the aspiration of building a strong and prosperous country, with people increasingly well-off and happy.

The Prime Minister affirmed that, being independent and self-reliant, but proactively and actively integrating deeply, substantially and effectively into the international community and advancing in science and technology and innovation, Vietnam can catch up, go along and advance with the world on the path of rapid and sustainable development, best absorbing the scientific advances of humanity.

However, Vietnam is still facing many difficulties and challenges. Although there have been some developments in science and technology and innovation, they have not yet met the development requirements and are not commensurate with the potential and advantages, especially the intellectual potential and creativity of the Vietnamese people.

“We cannot help but worry, ponder and feel responsible when the labor productivity growth rate is still low,” the Prime Minister shared.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the completion and operation of the National Innovation Center in Hoa Lac plays a great role and significance in developing the startup ecosystem; it is the beginning of a new development phase in providing synchronous infrastructure to accelerate and further strengthen the Vietnamese innovation ecosystem.

“Thinking must be innovative, vision must be strategic but must be realized with concrete, practical and effective actions and steps. The opening of the Vietnam International Innovation Exhibition 2023 today, concurrently with the inauguration of the National Innovation Center at Hoa Lac High-Tech Park, is also a contribution to promoting and realizing the innovation process into a new phase.

We believe that the inauguration of the National Innovation Center at Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park will create a new innovation space for our country; clearly demonstrate the spirit of daring to think, daring to do, daring to innovate for development, becoming a model of innovation for the country; and at the same time contribute to creating a new symbol for Vietnam as a destination for innovation,” the Prime Minister shared.

On this occasion, the Prime Minister also acknowledged and commended the very encouraging, valuable and meaningful results that the National Innovation Center has achieved after a short period of only 3 years of establishment and development, demonstrating the aspiration for prosperity for the country and the belief in a new stage of development of the country based mainly on science, technology and innovation.

The Prime Minister was pleased to learn that many large US corporations and partners such as Synosyps, Cadence, Arizona, Nvidia... participated in the Exhibition to concretize the agreements signed with NIC during the visit to Vietnam of US President Joe Biden and the recent visit to the US of the Vietnamese Prime Minister; at the same time, partners and businesses from many countries were also present and actively responded to the event.

The Prime Minister said that through the Exhibition, he felt the determination and desire for innovation of organizations, businesses, and each Vietnamese citizen and believed in the innovation capacity of the elements in the innovation ecosystem.

6 key tasks

In the coming time, the Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Hanoi People's Committee and other ministries, agencies and enterprises to be bolder, more determined, make more efforts, and make better use of cooperation opportunities with international partners to maximize the effectiveness of the National Innovation Center.

The Prime Minister suggested a number of key tasks, first of all, perfecting institutions and policies for innovation activities in Vietnam, promptly meeting the practical development requirements of innovation ecosystem subjects, especially innovation enterprises and creative startups.

In particular, it is necessary to research and boldly deploy experimental mechanisms, specific to subjects and fields of innovation that have the potential to create breakthroughs and new driving forces for the economy to develop rapidly and sustainably.

Second, develop strategies, plans, and action programs to focus on developing areas with high scientific and technological content, innovation, and high added value for Vietnam in the coming period, such as the semiconductor industry, green hydrogen technology, healthcare, education, and artificial intelligence; prepare infrastructure conditions and high-quality human resources to develop industries and fields.

Third, promote the spirit of cooperation, effective, sustainable and comprehensive connection between the subjects of the innovation ecosystem, including large enterprises and corporations; small and medium enterprises, innovative startups; research institutes, universities; innovation support organizations, innovation centers, innovation incubators, etc.

Fourth, promote international cooperation in the fields of innovation and science and technology, especially cooperation between domestic innovation enterprises and organizations with large technology enterprises and corporations in the world.

Fifth, continue to perfect the mechanism and policies for developing the National Innovation Center, promptly deploy operations, attract investment partners, build research and development facilities at the new facility of the National Innovation Center in Hoa Lac High-Tech Park; perfect strategic infrastructure connections, especially in terms of transportation and services of Hoa Lac High-Tech Park.

Sixth, the Prime Minister requested ministries, branches and localities to actively and proactively coordinate to effectively implement tasks and solutions according to the policies set out by the Party and State in developing the innovation ecosystem, always putting businesses and people at the center of innovation.

Focus on building and completing national innovation and startup support centers in major cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Can Tho and other provinces .