Vietnamese intellectuals in Thailand accompany the country in the new era

Photo caption — Ambassador Pham Viet Hung (center) welcomes Vietnamese teachers and intellectuals at the meeting. Photo: Do Sinh/VNA

In his welcoming remarks to the teachers and intellectuals attending the meeting at the Embassy headquarters, the Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand, Pham Viet Hung, stated that the Party and State recognize the overseas Vietnamese intellectual community as a particularly important resource in the process of leading the country into a new era. The Ambassador reiterated the strong political message about Vietnam's aspiration for reform and integration, emphasized by General Secretary To Lam at the 9th Plenum of the 13th Central Committee, that one of the key tasks is to attract at least 100 leading overseas Vietnamese experts back to the country between 2025 and 2027, while simultaneously building a special incentive mechanism beyond the standard framework so that they can confidently dedicate themselves to their work.

According to Ambassador Pham Viet Hung, the Vietnamese and Vietnamese-origin community in Thailand currently numbers around 100,000 people and has established a strong network of associations such as the All-Thailand Vietnamese Association and its local branches, the Thai-Vietnamese Business Association, the Overseas Vietnamese Women's Committee, and the Student Association. Over the past period, these associations have actively coordinated with the Embassy and domestic agencies to implement policies for overseas Vietnamese. In the context of the two countries recently upgrading their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the Ambassador expressed hope that the meeting would be an open forum for teachers, senior colleagues, and students to connect, exchange ideas substantively, and begin building a network of Vietnamese intellectuals in Thailand to share experiences, support each other in work and life, and ultimately promote scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries and contribute to their homeland.

At the meeting, delegates discussed and shared their thoughts on the potential for cooperation in science and technology between Vietnam and Thailand, attracting Vietnamese intellectual resources abroad in general and in Thailand in particular, connecting Vietnamese intellectuals in Thailand, and providing feedback on the draft documents for the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

According to Professor Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand and Vietnam are both rapidly developing countries in Southeast Asia and face many similar challenges such as air pollution, traffic congestion, and urban flooding. These issues require interdisciplinary cooperation because they are closely interconnected. The two countries can share experiences in using science and technology to address these challenges.

Regarding attracting Vietnamese intellectual resources abroad in general and in Thailand in particular, Dr. Nguyen Viet Hung, from Bangkok Hospital, believes that the State needs a continuous, consistent, and long-term policy to encourage Vietnamese intellectuals and scientists abroad to return to the country and contribute to their homeland through part-time work; support the conversion of diplomas and certificates from Thailand or other countries to Vietnam; create a specialized platform to provide and update information on domestic needs in the field of information technology; and establish a transnational fund to develop projects, promote transnational academic development, and connect Vietnam and Thailand.

Regarding connecting Vietnamese intellectuals in Thailand, research expert Hoang Hung Manh from AIT proposed establishing liaison groups with the Embassy acting as the central point to organize and connect not only university lecturers and researchers but also Vietnamese experts and engineers working in Thai businesses and companies. This would allow for exchange and sharing of experiences not only in scientific research but also in the practical application of science and technology.

At the meeting, many delegates also expressed their appreciation for the comprehensive contents of the Draft Political Report of the 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam at the 14th National Congress of the Party, especially the contents on breakthroughs in the development of science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation, along with the contents on sustainable social development management; ensuring social progress and equity, and caring for the people's lives. Delegates suggested that the State should allocate adequate investment budgets for education , healthcare, and scientific research. Professor Phan Minh Dung, a leading expert in artificial intelligence (AI) at AIT, argued that the ultimate goal of digital transformation and AI is to improve labor productivity, and suggested that the State needs policies to help universities immediately implement AI training programs to create a large number of AI experts that businesses can recruit when needed.

The meeting took place in a warm and open atmosphere. Ambassador Pham Viet Hung acknowledged that the shared opinions of Vietnamese intellectuals in Thailand were very useful, creating a foundation for the Embassy to build a network of Vietnamese intellectuals in Thailand, contributing to leveraging the collective strength of the overseas Vietnamese community to contribute to the development of the homeland in the new era.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/tri-thuc-viet-nam-tai-thai-lan-dong-hanh-cung-dat-nuoc-trong-ky-nguyen-moi-20251025204248541.htm