Webinar discusses innovation promotion for Vietnam’s economic development

Berlin (VNA) – An online discussion was held on September 24 as part of the Asia Berlin Summit 2020, focusing on promoting startup and innovation ecosystems in Vietnam.

The event, co-organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany and the Vietnam Germany Innovation Network, featured speakers from the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam, the German software corporation SAP, FPT Germany, and the two countries’ startup companies. It was also attended by some 100 participants online.

Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Minh Vu said the country considers promoting science-technology and innovation as one of the pillars in developing and modernising its economy.

It boasts considerable advantages for stepping up innovation, including more than 3,000 startups and 24 business incubators and growing investment in startups in recent years. The tech workforce is another strength as the country owns over 400,000 people trained in ICT and 50,000 graduates in this sector every year.

A number of major global tech firms have also been planning to operate in Vietnam, he added.

Vietnam-Germany relations have been deepened in various fields, and cooperation in science-technology and innovation is viewed as one of the prioritised areas.

Thanks to the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) already taking effect and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) awaiting ratification, trade and investment ties between Vietnam and Germany, as well as the EU as a whole, are expected to increase strongly, including in science-technology and innovation.

At the discussion, representatives from the two Vietnamese ministries updated participants on the country’s innovation and startup ecosystems, policies and programmes supporting innovation and IT capacity development, along with cooperation with important partners, including Germany and the EU, to turn it into a leading startup and innovation hub in Asia.

Meanwhile, representatives from SAP and FPT Germany shared experience in developing partnership between Vietnamese and German enterprises, and the firms’ support for startups and businesses in Vietnam.

Apart from proposing some recommendations to Vietnamese authorities to improve the business climate in the IT sector, they also gave many useful advice to Vietnamese businesses and startups wishing to cooperate with German and European companies./.