Vietnam, France promote cooperation in the field of innovation

The event is part of the “Franco-Vietnamese Year of Innovation,” initiated by the French Embassy in Vietnam, in collaboration with various agencies, research institutes, and the Vietnam Innovation Network in Europe (VINEU). This is a high-level academic activity, bringing together numerous researchers, representatives from agencies and businesses, and the Vietnamese community in France, to exchange ideas on developing an innovation system suitable for Vietnam in the coming period.

In his opening remarks, Professor Michel Blanchard, the program coordinator, emphasized that Vietnam is facing the challenge of escaping the "middle-income trap" and moving towards the goal of becoming a high-income country by 2045. He argued that to achieve this goal, Vietnam needs to consider innovation as the central driver of growth.

Mr. Jean-Philippe Eglinger, the initiator of the "Franco-Vietnamese Year of Innovation," stated that the workshop was organized to outline the overall innovation ecosystem in Vietnam, especially since the Government implemented Program 844 to support national innovative startups in 2016. According to him, this is an opportunity for scholars, businesses, and students from both countries to share experiences and discuss innovation models suitable for the Vietnamese context, contributing to the realization of the goal of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a developed country by 2045.

Speaking at the conference, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang highly appreciated the initiative to organize this event, considering it a strategically significant activity in the context of Vietnam's accelerated transformation of its growth model. The Ambassador emphasized: “ Science , technology, innovation, and digital transformation are key breakthroughs and the main driving forces for Vietnam to innovate its development model, aiming for sustainable development.”

Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang affirmed that France has always been regarded by Vietnam as a technological powerhouse and a comprehensive strategic partner, with an advanced scientific, research, and academic foundation. The two countries have significant potential for cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, civilian nuclear energy, the North-South high-speed railway, clean energy, aerospace industry, high-tech agriculture , and modern medicine. He also emphasized France's role in training high-quality human resources for Vietnam through scholarship programs, dual degree programs, and joint research projects.

In his presentation, Professor Michel Blanchard analyzed Vietnam's macroeconomic situation, pointing out that Vietnam still primarily relies on a manufacturing and assembly model in the electronics sector, with a low rate of domestic value added. He argued that this model helps boost exports and rapid growth in the initial stages, but in the long term, Vietnam needs to shift to industries with higher technological and knowledge content, while investing heavily in productivity and innovation to escape the "middle-income trap".

Evaluating Vietnam's innovation policy, Professor Blanchard affirmed the strong political will of Vietnam's leaders, viewing innovation not only as a task for the science and technology sector but as a cause for the entire society. He suggested that Vietnam could learn from France's experience in effectively connecting the public and private sectors, universities, research institutes, and businesses, forming a comprehensive innovation ecosystem.

Speaking with a VNA reporter, Ms. Tran Ha My, Director of VINEU in France and President of the Vietnamese Young Entrepreneurs Association in Europe, said that she collaborated with Vietnamese and French professors from INALCO to organize this event, with the goal of sharing academic research on innovation systems suitable for Vietnam, and finding solutions to promote public-private cooperation, especially between French and Vietnamese businesses, in order to take the innovation process to a new level.

The workshop took place in a vibrant academic atmosphere, with numerous exchanges between researchers and the French-Vietnamese business community on technological development directions, digital transformation, and bilateral cooperation in the field of innovation. Delegates agreed that innovation is not only an inevitable trend but also a mandate of the times, the foundation for green growth, sustainable development, and enhancing Vietnam's position in the global value chain.

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