Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Nguyễn Hoàng Giang (fourth, left) attends the Sixty-Fourth Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO that takes place at the WIPO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday. — Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Science and Technology

GENEVA — Việt Nam will continue to work with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) to develop an inclusive, balanced, and efficient global intellectual property ecosystem that enables innovation and creativity for the benefit of all.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Nguyễn Hoàng Giang made the statement as he led a Vietnamese delegation at the Sixty-Fourth Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO that takes place at the WIPO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland between July 6 and 14.

He said he highly appreciated WIPO's initiatives to support member countries, especially those aimed at priority subjects such as small and medium enterprises, women and young people in using and exploiting intellectual property rights as a tool to promote economic growth, attract investment, create jobs and improve the lives of communities.

Giang spoke of the challenges that the world is facing such as epidemics, climate change and food insecurity that have been affecting the economies of countries and the lives of millions of people in all regions of the world.

Giang also said to address these issues, it is necessary to continue to promote multilateral cooperation, promote the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and encourage the development of science, technology and innovation in which intellectual property is a key tool.

Also on Tuesday, the Vietnamese delegation held a bilateral meeting with WIPO's Director General Daren Tang.

Giang expressed his delight at the increased cooperation between Việt Nam and WIPO over the years, including many visits of high-level delegations, demonstrating the close cooperation between Việt Nam and WIPO and affirming the attention of the leaders of the Party, State and Government of Việt Nam in science, technology and innovation activities, in which intellectual property is an important factor.

In addition, he also welcomed and highly appreciated the close and effective cooperation between Việt Nam and WIPO in implementing technical cooperation activities such as the implementation of the National Intellectual Property Strategy, the Global Innovation Index (GII) and the development of Việt Nam's Provincial Innovation Index (PII).

On this occasion, he reiterated the invitation to WIPO Director General Daren Tang to pay an official visit to Việt Nam in 2024.

At the end of the meeting, he witnessed the signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement between WIPO and the Intellectual Property Office of Việt Nam in support of the Centre for Research, Training, Support and Consulting in order to improve skills and knowledge for Vietnamese experts, businesses and civil servants.

Within the scope of the delegation’s activities, in addition to attending a number of plenary sessions of the WIPO General Assembly, the delegation had a working session with the Permanent Representative of Việt Nam to the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other international organisations in Geneva and visited some models of protection and management of geographical indications in Switzerland. — VNS