Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam – Japan Innovation Forum 2026, themed “Building a regional innovation ecosystem: From strategic technology foundations to substantive business-academia collaboration”, was co-organised in Hanoi on August 13 by Vietnam’s National Innovation Centre and the Embassy of Japan.
In his opening remarks, NIC Deputy Director Hoang Trung Hieu shared that Vietnam is working to gradually make science, technology, and innovation its main growth drivers. Along the way, Japan stands out as one of its key partners, bringing strong capabilities in sci-tech, industry, and workforce, along with an extensive network of companies, research institutes, and universities.
The NIC at the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park (HHTP) has become a hub for Vietnamese and Japanese technology, intelligence and resources backed by wide Japanese ties. The centre will keep leveraging those ties to link resources and drive research, testing, training, and specific technology projects, turning Hoa Lac into a well-connected, far-reaching hub for Vietnam-Japan innovation cooperation, he said.
Ishikawa Isamu, Deputy Ambassador of Japan to Vietnam, spotlighted promising technologies in agriculture, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), smart factories, healthcare, digital infrastructure, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Science, technology, and innovation are now important pillars of Japan-Vietnam cooperation. The Japanese Government will continue working with the Vietnamese counterpart to support startups and foster an innovation-friendly environment, thereby contributing to Vietnam’s socio-economic development, he said.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung stressed that Vietnam-Japan technological cooperation should pivot in three ways: from technology transfer to joint research, development and commercialisation, from isolated innovation hubs to an interconnected innovation network, and from agreements to measurable outcomes.
Dung said innovation must show up in jointly developed technologies, trained workers, established labs and R&D centres, investment projects, new businesses and startups, and new products brought to market.
Under a Japanese Government-backed project launched with the United Nations Development Programme, the Vietnam-Japan Innovation Hub will open at the NIC. It will serve as a platform for real technological cooperation, where companies, research institutes, universities, and experts from both countries can jointly carry out research, testing, training, incubation, and investment matchmaking, and build R&D and technology projects.
The forum featured two in-depth panel discussions on co-creating an innovation ecosystem through Vietnam-Japan perspectives and pushing cooperation in strategic technological fields.
Delegates discussed ways to deepen cooperation, including building a competitive innovation ecosystem that turns breakthrough research into globally competitive startups using Japan’s experience. Making HHTP a model of Vietnam-Japan cooperation, shaping a world-class innovation ecosystem, and recommendations for the Vietnam-Japan Innovation Hub are important factors, as is developing a strategic technology industry model, with examples like the Vietnam-Japan Innovation Hub and UAV Lab cooperation at Hoa Lac./.
