Phung Duc Tien from the National Assembly’s Committee for Science,Technology and Environment talked with Thoi Bao Kinh Te (VietnamEconomic Times) about the need to use more technology in business.
Q:The role science and technology play in the global economy beenestablished, but it seems to be ambiguous in Vietnam. What's youropinion on this issue?
A: The world is entering an era ofknowledge economies and brainpower civilisations. Science and technologyaccount for a high percentage of products' value and they are the mostimportant element in adding value to products.
In Vietnam, sincethe beginning of the renovation process and especially with ResolutionNo. 2 of the eighth Plenum of the Party Central Committee, awarenessabout the role of science and technology has improved and produced somemomentum in economic development.
Regarding global and regionalintegration, many leaders, managers and enterprises have become awarethat only by increasing the amount of technology we use can we competein a market economy. The need for more technology has sped up effortsacross all sectors to research and apply science and technology inbusiness.
Q: You have mentioned the role of science and technology in economic development. Could you speak more about that?
A:A number of reliable statistics have shown the role science andtechnology play in economic development. For example, world economicgrowth in 1990 increased 28.5 percent compared with that of 1982, whileworld commerce volume grew 57.9 percent, according to the InternationalMonetary Fund.
In Vietnam, science and technology have greatlycontributed to the socio-economic development of the country –especially in recent years. This is evident in the country's high andstable economic growth. From 2001 to 2010, the economy grew 7.26 percenta year. Vietnam's GDP in 2010 was 3.26 times that of 2000. The economicstructure is moving in a positive way and the socialist-oriented marketeconomy continues to be successful. All economic sectors havedeveloped. Of these, industrial and services have high economic growth,with industrial processing growing 13.5 percent a year.
Q: As acountry that relies on agriculture, in your opinion, what should we doto improve the role of science and technology in this sector?
A:The development of science and technology in agriculture should beregarded as urgent. There are many challenges, including how to makeagriculture products become commodities. The State should createpolicies to assist the development of science and technology inagriculture sectors to help agriculture products meet domestic andinternational market demand. This way they could compete better in bothmarkets.
For agriculture to develop comprehensively, science andtechnology should be considered an important driving force for thesector.
Q: Do you think we will be able to develop our agriculture methods any time soon?
A:In fact, a lot of outstanding science and technological achievements inrecent years have been put to use, bringing about high productivity.This includes hybrid rice and maize strains. Despite the challengesahead, I believe that with strong determination and improvements inscience and technology development in the agriculture sector, Vietnamwill soon become a modern agriculture production country.-VNA
Q:The role science and technology play in the global economy beenestablished, but it seems to be ambiguous in Vietnam. What's youropinion on this issue?
A: The world is entering an era ofknowledge economies and brainpower civilisations. Science and technologyaccount for a high percentage of products' value and they are the mostimportant element in adding value to products.
In Vietnam, sincethe beginning of the renovation process and especially with ResolutionNo. 2 of the eighth Plenum of the Party Central Committee, awarenessabout the role of science and technology has improved and produced somemomentum in economic development.
Regarding global and regionalintegration, many leaders, managers and enterprises have become awarethat only by increasing the amount of technology we use can we competein a market economy. The need for more technology has sped up effortsacross all sectors to research and apply science and technology inbusiness.
Q: You have mentioned the role of science and technology in economic development. Could you speak more about that?
A:A number of reliable statistics have shown the role science andtechnology play in economic development. For example, world economicgrowth in 1990 increased 28.5 percent compared with that of 1982, whileworld commerce volume grew 57.9 percent, according to the InternationalMonetary Fund.
In Vietnam, science and technology have greatlycontributed to the socio-economic development of the country –especially in recent years. This is evident in the country's high andstable economic growth. From 2001 to 2010, the economy grew 7.26 percenta year. Vietnam's GDP in 2010 was 3.26 times that of 2000. The economicstructure is moving in a positive way and the socialist-oriented marketeconomy continues to be successful. All economic sectors havedeveloped. Of these, industrial and services have high economic growth,with industrial processing growing 13.5 percent a year.
Q: As acountry that relies on agriculture, in your opinion, what should we doto improve the role of science and technology in this sector?
A:The development of science and technology in agriculture should beregarded as urgent. There are many challenges, including how to makeagriculture products become commodities. The State should createpolicies to assist the development of science and technology inagriculture sectors to help agriculture products meet domestic andinternational market demand. This way they could compete better in bothmarkets.
For agriculture to develop comprehensively, science andtechnology should be considered an important driving force for thesector.
Q: Do you think we will be able to develop our agriculture methods any time soon?
A:In fact, a lot of outstanding science and technological achievements inrecent years have been put to use, bringing about high productivity.This includes hybrid rice and maize strains. Despite the challengesahead, I believe that with strong determination and improvements inscience and technology development in the agriculture sector, Vietnamwill soon become a modern agriculture production country.-VNA
