Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam. —VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam told a working session with the Ministry of Science and Technology on Tuesday that breakthroughs in science-technology are needed for the country to accelerate  development.

He said there are many things that need to be done to turn science-technology into a driving force and a source of power for the economy, but the first task is to digitalise and use information technology to enable connectivity in management. Obstacles in financial mechanism should also be removed, the Deputy PM added. 

Minister of Science and Technology Huỳnh Thành Đạt said the ministry will continue to work with relevant agencies to build specific mechanisms for developing science-technology.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Lê Xuân Định reported at the meeting that science and technology has contributed greatly to national development, as seen in the growing contribution of the total factor productivity (TFP) to national economic growth, from an average 33.6 per cent in the 2011-2015 period to 45.2 per cent in the 2016-2020.

The country’s Global Innovation Index (GII) was ranked 42nd among 131 countries and territories, third in ASEAN and topped the group of nations with the same level of income.

The country has begun to form an innovative start-up ecology with around 3,000 innovative start-ups, which attracted approximately US$1 billion of investment in the past two consecutive years.

Investment in science-technology now comes from both the State budget (52 per cent) and businesses (48 per cent) instead of relying entirely on the State like it did 10 years ago. —VNS