Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng attends a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of President Hồ Chí Minh's meeting with intellectuals (May 18, 1963 - May 18, 2023). VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng called upon scientific and technological intellectuals to strive to make greater and more effective contributions to the rapid and sustainable development of the country.

He was speaking during a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of President Hồ Chí Minh's meeting with intellectuals (May 18, 1963 - May 18, 2023) and the 40th anniversary of the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA) (March 26, 1983 - March 26, 2023) held on Friday in Hà Nội.

Roughly 500 delegates who are leaders of the Party, State, National Assembly, Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Party Committees of provinces and cities, research institutes, universities, science and technology enterprises, and leaders of 93 national associations and 63 provincial branches of VUSTA took part in the event.

Speaking at the ceremony, President of VUSTA Phan Xuân Dũng said at the first congress of the Vietnam Association for Science and Technology Dissemination, the predecessor of VUSTA, on May 18, 1963, then President Hồ Chí Minh talked to and assigned tasks to the country’s intellectuals.

Since then, VUSTA has increasingly affirmed its important role in uniting and bringing into play the creativity of Vietnamese science and technology intellectuals both at home and abroad, helping promote the country’s scientific and technological strength, boost socio-economic development and contribute to defence and security.

From the 15 initial associations with a modest membership, VUSTA now comprises 156 associations, including 63 local association unions and 93 associations, with over 2.2 million intellectuals among the more than 3.7 million members.

Nearly 600 subordinate science and technology organisations, along with the Vietnam Fund for Supporting Technological Creations (VIFOTEC), the Trí thức (Knowledge) Publishing House, and the Trí thức và Cuộc sống (Knowledge and Life) newspaper, have also been set up, Dũng noted.

In recognition of its achievements over the last 40 years, the Party and State have granted many noble awards, including the Hồ Chí Minh Order, the Independence Order, and the Labour Order, to VUSTA and its member associations. Many scientists have also been honoured with the Labour Hero title, the Hồ Chí Minh Award and State Awards on Science and Technology, he added.

Highly valuing the enormous contributions, Party General Secretary Trọng said that in every era and every country, intellectuals always form an important force in promoting the development of society. They are part of human resources and also a scientific and technological resource directly engaging in the improvement of people’s intellectual level and training of manpower for the country.

The Party has always paid attention to the mobilisation and development of intellectuals as seen in its issuance of many resolutions and directives in this regard, he noted.

Amid the strong Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is fostering breakthrough development in multiple areas and creating both opportunities and challenges for each country, science and technology organisations and intellectuals of Việt Nam, especially those of VUSTA, needed to work harder to make greater and more effective contributions to help the country obtain fast and sustainable development, he said.

The Party leader asked VUSTA to push ahead with reforms, improve its performance quality, further give proposals and feedback to the Party and State, provide more favourable conditions for intellectuals to contribute to national development, and carry out diverse activities connected with the strategies, plans, and development programmes of sectors, regions, and the entire country.

He expressed his belief that VUSTA would continue fulfilling all tasks assigned by the Party and State, make more qualitative and effective contributions to national development and defence, enhance the great national solidarity, and join hands with the Party, army and people in successfully implementing all the Party’s guidelines. VNS