Signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology (PTIT) and its Australian partner. (Photo: Van Linh/VNA)

According to a VNA correspondent in Sydney, on August 4, in Sydney (Australia), the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) and the New South Wales Trade and Investment Commission in charge of the Vietnamese market co-organized the Vietnam-Australia Digital Forum 2023.

The forum aims to promote cooperation in the fields of information and communications technology and digital between Vietnam and Australia.

Attending the forum, on the Vietnamese side were Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung, Consul General of Vietnam in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia Nguyen Dang Thang, a number of leaders of units under the Ministry of Information and Communications, representatives from the Military Industry-Telecoms Group (Viettel), the Academy of Posts and Telecommunications Technology (PTIT), Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), Mobifone Telecommunications Corporation (MOBIFONE), Vietnam Post Corporation (VNPost), Dien Quang Group Joint Stock Company, FPT Software Joint Stock Company (FPT Software), MISA Joint Stock Company, Luvina Software Joint Stock Company.

On the Australian side, there was Ms. Karla Lampe - CEO of the New South Wales Trade and Investment Authority under the New South Wales Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade (EIT), representatives of Western Sydney University, Canberra University, a number ofeducational institutions and businesses operating in the field of technology and digital transformation.

Speaking to VNA reporters in Sydney, Mr. Trieu Minh Long - Director of the Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Information and Communications - said that in 2023, one of the key tasks that the Ministry of Information and Communications identified to focus on implementing is to support Vietnam's digital business community to reach out to the world.

In addition to activities in Australia, the Ministry of Information and Communications also implements many programs in other countries and regions around the world such as the US, Japan, and Europe.

According to Mr. Trieu Minh Long, in 2023, Vietnam and Australia will celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and trade and economic relations between the two countries are developing well. However, cooperation in digital technology and information technology between the two countries has not achieved as many results as expected.

Therefore, during the visit of Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung to Australia, Vietnam coordinated with Australian partners to organize this program, with the aim of connecting and supporting businesses to directly exchange and establish cooperative relationships to develop and provide products and solutions of Vietnamese businesses to the Australian market.

He assessed the Australian market as a very potential market for Vietnamese digital technology businesses.

Mr. Trieu Minh Long said that Vietnamese digital technology enterprises currently have many strengths in both technology and finance. Some Vietnamese enterprises have been very successful in foreign markets, including in difficult markets such as the US and Japan.

One of the advantages for Vietnamese businesses when approaching the Australian market is that the two countries have good diplomatic and economic relations, the Vietnamese community in Australia is quite large, and many Vietnamese businesses have been doing business successfully in this country.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Thang, Consul General of Vietnam in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, speaking at the forum. (Photo: Le Dat/VNA)

Speaking at the forum, Mr. Nguyen Dang Thang - Consul General of Vietnam in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia - said that developing a digital platform is a breakthrough solution to promote faster digital transformation, reduce costs and increase economic efficiency.

At the same time, international cooperation is an important solution to implement digital transformation, especially promoting digital transformation in society, thereby creating momentum for the digital transformation process in government agencies.

The Consul General also assessed that Vietnam and Australia are facing new and two-way cooperation opportunities. Vietnam and Australia have a strong cooperative relationship and high political trust - this is an important key point for cooperation in the field of cyber security.

Sharing the same view with Consul General Nguyen Dang Thang, Ms. Karla Lampe - Executive Director of the New South Wales Trade and International Investment Agency, under the New South Wales Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade (DEIT) - emphasized that Vietnam and Australia are maintaining a stronger partnership than ever, both from an economic perspective and in terms of government-to-government relations.

Both New South Wales and Vietnam have large technology companies and influential individuals in the media sector. Ms Karla expressed her hope that the two countries can further promote their economic and trade relationship in the future, outlining ambitious digital transformation goals.

She said New South Wales is well placed to partner with Vietnam in these areas, and hoped the digital forum would help Australian businesses gain a deeper understanding of the digital space and opportunities for collaboration with Vietnam.

In an interview with a VNA reporter in Sydney, Mr. Scott W Minehane - CEO of Windsor Place Consulting - said that Vietnam has strengths in a number of areas, such as manufacturing facilities, infrastructure and handheld devices, optical fibre... those strengths really benefit Australia.

Meanwhile, Australia has strengths in spectrum management. Therefore, the two countries can cooperate and support each other. In the context of the shift of manufacturing and service industries to Vietnam, Mr. Scott believes that Vietnam will indeed have a strong growth journey and Australian companies will also cooperate more actively with Vietnamese partners in this process.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ben Seymour - Business Director of ModicaGroup (USA) specializing in computer software intelligence based in Sydney - said that his company is currently looking to further expand the software sector and find solutions for network operators in the Asian region, especially the Southeast Asian market.

According to Mr. Ben, ModicaGroup considers Vietnam a new strategic market and wants to invest more to establish strong partnerships in this Southeast Asian country because the company believes that its smart software platform will help add value to both the Vietnamese government and businesses.

At the forum, representatives of agencies, organizations, research institutions and businesses of the two countries presented papers, exchanged and discussed issues related to the fields of information and communication technology and digital technology to promote and develop the potential for cooperation in the field of technology, explore strengths, potential for cooperation as well as policy incentives and investment environment characteristics in Vietnam and Australia.

At the end of the forum, delegates witnessed the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology and Australian partners, including Western Sydney University, Canberra University, SET Education, and the Association of Vietnamese Australian Scholars and Experts (VASEA)./.

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