HÀ NỘI — Republic of Korea (RoK) President Moon Jae-in and Việt Nam Deputy Prime Minister Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh on March 22 attended a ground breaking ceremony for the Việt Nam – RoK Institute of Science and Technology in the Hoà Lạc Hi-tech Park.

Speaking at the ceremony, President Moon said that this project would open up a new chapter in Việt Nam’s science and technology development. Envisaged as a leading multi-disciplinary institution, it is expected to play an important role in providing state-of-the-art technology solutions for enterprises, and serve as a breeding ground for science talents in Việt Nam.

Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngọc Anh said the ministry has been tasked with the construction and management of the institute. In order to turn the project into a leading example in the two countries’ long list of co-operation, the ministry would adopt the international model in operating the institute, with a focus on development of industrial technologies.

Research and development activities would start within the year, with priorities put on information technology and demand-supply technologies for domestic businesses. In the next five years, the institute is expected to be capable of providing technology solutions to foreign direct investment (FDI) companies in Việt Nam, as well as expand into the international market in the future.  

Agricultural co-operation

Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng has hailed the effective cooperation between the Việt Nam Cooperative Alliance (VCA) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation of the Republic of Korea (NACF) over the past year, such as exchanging information and experience in developing cooperatives and human resources.

During his reception for NACF Chairman Kim Byung-won in Hà Nội on March 22, Dũng proposed the NACF continue assisting the VCA in training personnel, improving capacity for Việt Nam’s agricultural cooperatives, establishing new-style cooperatives, providing supermarket management skills, and boosting cooperation in agricultural finance.

The Deputy PM suggested the NACF prompt Korean competent agencies to help address difficulties related to quarantine of Vietnamese agricultural products and open its market for Vietnamese pork and chicken in 2018, and then dragon fruits, rambutan, longan and lychees.

The Government of Việt Nam pledges to create favourable conditions for Korean agricultural products to enter the Vietnamese market, he affirmed.

The RoK is now one of the leading economic partners of Việt Nam, ranking first in terms of investment, second in terms of trade and ODA, and third in terms of tourism, he said.

By the end of 2017, the RoK had invested in more than 6,400 projects with a combined investment capital of US$57.66 billion, Dũng said, adding that in 2017 the RoK led foreign investors in Việt Nam, with $8.31 billion in newly licensed and added investment.

NACF Chairman Kim Byung-won agreed with Deputy PM Dũng’s ideas and proposals for more effective cooperation between the NACF and the VCA, saying that staff training, capacity building for the Việt Nam’s agricultural cooperatives, and building new-style cooperatives are among their key cooperation contents.

The RoK is willing to provide Việt Nam with resources and experience in chain-based production, thus raising the value of its agricultural products, Kim said.

The NACF Chairman called on the two countries to take effective measures to increase the sale of agricultural products in each other’s markets.

Irrigation deal

The Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-Water) will support and share experiences as well as technologies with Việt Nam in dealing with water resources-related issues.

An agreement to this effect was signed between K-Water and the General Department of Irrigation under Việt Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in Hà Nội on March 22.

Accordingly, K-Water will assist the Vietnamese side in monitoring and operating reservoirs to reduce floods and increasing the clean water supply in rural areas.

K-Water Vice President Park Won-cheol said following the signing of the deal, K-Water will dispatch its staff to Việt Nam to work with MARD on the contents of the agreement.

March 22 also saw a seminar held on smart city co-operation, attended by the Minister of Construction Phạm Hồng Hà and his South Korean counterpart Kim Hyun-mi, where the two sides have shared that collaboration at the very early stages of smart city development would be beneficial for Vietnamese society. — VNS