Visitors at an exhibition on technological solutions and products being held at the biennial Việt Nam International Conference and Exhibition on Control and Automation that opened yesterday in HCM City. Photo courtesy of the organisers

HCM CITY — Smart cities, digital transformation, smart agriculture, renewable energy, and start-ups are on the agenda at an international business forum in HCM City.

It is being held as part of the sixth Việt Nam International Conference and Exhibition on Control and Automation that opened on Friday, organised by the Việt Nam Automation Association (VAA) and the Việt Nam National University HCM City.

The two-day event, with the theme ‘Automation in the Việt Nam National Digital Transformation Program: Intelligent and Innovative’, has attracted a number of representatives of institutions and businesses, both local and international, and individual scientists in automation.

It includes a scientific conference and an international exhibition.

The exhibition has some 70 booths displaying technology solutions and products like high-tech products for smart lighting, smart agriculture, energy conservation, new energies, and supporting industries for the automation sector from companies and students at academies and universities.

Addressing a conference held within the forum, Minister of Science and Technology Huỳnh Thành Đạt suggested that the VAA strengthen connectivity with world-leading technology suppliers for more technology transfer, thus strengthening the application of advanced technologies from the Fourth Industrial Revolution into the automation sector.

It was necessary to focus on developing smart production towards stronger connections in designing-operating and maintaining stages and the integration of management technology into business activities, as well as implementing the three major solutions of automation-energy efficiency-software on the digital foundation, with a combination of big data analysis using artificial intelligence, said the minister.

Đạt expressed his hope that the association would help improve the level of automation in Việt Nam's industrial products to enhance their competitiveness in the world, while supporting domestic firms in researching, applying and innovating technologies and digital transformation in the green, clean, circular, and energy-efficient directions through national-level science and technology promotion programmes.

He revealed that his ministry was building a strategy for science-technology development in the 2021-2030 period, which defines automation as one of the priority technologies. Specifically, 20 out of the 99 high technologies prioritised for development are in the field of automation, while 30 out of the 107 hi-tech products subjected to development encouragement also belong to the automation sector, he said.

Nguyễn Quân, chairman of the Việt Nam Automation Association, said the event sought to promote control engineering and automation technologies. 

The automation sector had made great contributions to socio-economic development, especially amid COVID-19. New equipment and services had helped the healthcare, education and production sectors maintain their operations, while contributing to promoting post-pandemic economic recovery, Quân noted.

Organisers said businesses and individuals could also introduce their technology solutions and seek new investment and business opportunities at the event.

The biennial event is organised by the association and the Việt Nam National University, HCM City.

This year's two-day event received 160 scientific reports by domestic and foreign scientists in 50 different topics.

Organised since 2011, it was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. — VNS