Singapore (VNA) – Looking forwards to the state visit to Singapore by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam from May 29–31, Vietnamese experts and intellectuals in the city-state have expressed high expectations for expanded bilateral cooperation in science – technology, innovation and digital transformation.
Speaking to Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Singapore, Dr Ha Son Tung, deputy head of the department for advanced optical technologies at Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), said that during a meeting with the Vietnamese community in March last year, the top leader, then serving as Party General Secretary, shared important guidance on the role of science, technology and innovation in Vietnam’s national development.
The Party chief also underscored the importance of the strategic cooperation between Vietnam and Singapore while expressing his hope that Vietnamese intellectuals in Singapore will continue making practical contributions to Vietnam’s sci-tech advancement.
According to Tung, the guidance from the leader has encouraged many Vietnamese experts in Singapore to proactively launch initiatives connecting with institutions in Vietnam. During last year’s visit, with the participation of officials from Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Education and Training, expert groups began establishing specific channels of cooperation with ministries, universities and research institutes in Vietnam.
He said these activities have laid the groundwork for substantive cooperation programmes in science and technology, human resources training and innovation. The overseas Vietnamese (OV) intellectual community now hopes to report directly to General Secretary and President Lam on the progress achieved since his last visit, and propose further initiatives to deepen cooperation in the coming period.
A key highlight anticipated by the community during the ongoing visit is the top leader’s keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue and his meeting with the Vietnamese community in Singapore.
Many experts believe the occasion will not only provide an opportunity to learn about Vietnam’s development orientation in the new era, but also allow OV intellectuals to express their long-term commitment to contributing to the homeland’s development.
Associate Professor Dr Luu Anh Tuan of the College of Computing and Data Science at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) said the event clearly demonstrates the Party and State’s strong interest in science and technology, particularly as Vietnam is accelerating digital transformation and the development of a knowledge-based economy.
He noted that this not only inspires OV intellectuals, but also strengthens their desire to contribute directly to Vietnam’s development through research programmes, technology transfer and high-quality human resources training.
Tuan observed that Vietnam is currently holding major opportunities to make breakthroughs in the field if it can effectively harness the intellectual resources of OV communities. Singapore, as a leading regional hub for technology and innovation, gathers many Vietnamese experts working in key sectors such as artificial intelligence, big data, semiconductors, biotechnology and public policy governance.
He added that with effective mechanisms linking OV intellectuals with domestic agencies, enterprises and research institutions, many more cooperation projects could be implemented more strongly in the future. This will not only help enhance Vietnam’s sci-tech capacity, but also create favourable conditions for attracting high-quality talent back to contribute to the homeland.
Many experts in Singapore also expressed their hope that the General Secretary and President’s visit will pave the way for more substantive cooperation mechanisms between Vietnam and Singapore in high technology, innovation and human resources development.
According to OV intellectuals, such cooperation will provide an important stepping stone for strengthening knowledge links between domestic institutions and Vietnamese experts abroad at a time of intensifying global technological competition./.
