Party General Secretary Tô Lâm speaks to members of the Vietnam Innovation Network in Korea and Vietnamese experts in the Republic of Korea on Sunday. VNA/VNS Photo

SEOUL — Party General Secretary Tô Lâm on Sunday urged the Vietnam Innovation Network in Korea, the Republic of Korea (RoK)-based branch of a global organisation, to promote its role as a key bridge connecting the domestic and international innovation ecosystem.

He was speaking at a meeting in Seoul with members of the network and Vietnamese experts in the RoK during his state visit to the East Asian country.

The event, jointly organised by Vietnamese Ministry of Finance and the Vietnam Innovation Network in Korea, demonstrated the focus of the Party, the State and the Party General Secretary personally on overseas Vietnamese intellectuals, as well as the country’s goals for scientific and technological development, innovation and digital transformation.

Minister of Finance Nguyễn Văn Thắng said the Vietnam Innovation Network, under the patronage of the National Innovation Centre (NIC) managed by the Ministry of Finance, was established to concretise the Party and State’s guidelines and policies on valuing and attracting talent, absorbing the world’s technological advances and maximising the nation’s intellectual resources, including overseas Vietnamese experts.

To date, the network had established a presence in 22 countries and territories, with more than 2,000 members who are intellectuals, scientists, chief engineers and chief architects in key industries.

Thắng stressed that in the modern era, the role of overseas Vietnamese intellectuals and experts had become more important than ever, especially in innovation and high technology.

"Contributing to national development does not necessarily require returning home. It can also be done through resource connection, knowledge sharing and international cooperation, maximising the intellectual potential of Vietnamese people worldwide for a strong and prosperous Việt Nam," he said.

He praised members of the Vietnam Innovation Network and Vietnamese experts in the RoK for their positive contributions to Việt Nam’s innovation and digital transformation efforts, such as providing policy recommendations for private sector development, promoting strategic industries and supporting universities and domestic enterprises in improving training quality as well as research, technology transfer and market expansion.

Many members had established businesses, transferred technology or invested in and conducted trade activities with Việt Nam, he said.

At the meeting, members of the network and Vietnamese experts in the RoK working in Việt Nam’s priority strategic technology sectors, including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, advanced biomedical science, robotics, autonomous devices, aviation, aerospace and unmanned aerial vehicles, presented reports, shared experiences and proposed new solutions and best practices to accelerate the development of key industries.

Lâm said he highly valued suggestions for integrating Việt Nam into the value chains of major technology corporations and acknowledged the practical, needs-based initiatives to promote innovation, start-ups, digital transformation and investment attraction linked to technology transfer.

The Party chief informed the experts about four recently-issued Politburo resolutions which would serve as fundamental institutional pillars and powerful drivers to advance the nation in the new era and help realise the vision of Việt Nam to become a developed, high-income country by 2045.

They are: Resolution 57-NQ/TW on breakthroughs in national science, technology, innovation and digital transformation; Resolution 59-NQ/TW on international integration in the new context; Resolution 66-NQ/TW on reforming the formulation and implementation of laws to meet the country’s development requirements in the new era; and Resolution 68-NQ/TW on private sector development.

"One of the decisive factors for success is a skilled workforce and the joint efforts of intellectuals, experts and entrepreneurs both at home and abroad," Lâm said.

To further deepen and expand cooperation, the General Secretary urged the Vietnam Innovation Network in Korea to strengthen the connection between Vietnamese experts, intellectuals and entrepreneurs based in the RoK and agencies, organisations and enterprises in Việt Nam.

He encouraged the network to take the lead in innovation initiatives, promote knowledge and experience transfer and bring global advances and best practices to Việt Nam.

He requested that the Ministry of Finance continue coordinating to connect and transfer knowledge as well as concretise programmes, ideas and proposals from experts in the RoK and other countries into specific, high value-added solutions and products. VNS