Science and Technology sector asked to closely follow practical needs

The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), along with scientific and technological research agencies, needs to closely follow practical needs and engage with enterprises to serve the cause of the country’s socio-economic development.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaking at the conference (Credit: VGP)

This statement was made by Prime Minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc at a national online conference held by MoST in Hanoi on January 4 to review its performance in 2016 and set out tasks for 2017.

The event was also attended by Deputy PM, Vu Duc Dam and numerous experts and scientists around the country.

Addressing the conference, PM Phuc appreciated the great contributions made by the science and technology sector to socio-economic development achievements.

However, he pointed out the reasons for the low competitiveness of the Vietnamese economy and the low networking readiness index of the country, including the situation of little research applied in reality. Therefore, it is necessary to give priority to investment in projects with high practical application, he added.

The PM emphasised six factors for the development of the science and technology sector: institutions, mechanisms and environment; human resources; resources; infrastructure; integration capacity; and management capacity of the State for science and technology.

He noted that the fourth industrial revolution requires Vietnam to constantly innovate and rebuild its administration in order to promote the role of science and technology, particularly human resources and institutions.

The Government leader urged the enhancement of international integration on science and technology and the encouragement of investment and application of scientific and technological advances from enterprises as well as the removal of institutional bottlenecks in scientific and technological development.

The sector should thoroughly grasp the market need to give appropriate directions for scientific and technological research activities, said PM Phuc. He also stressed the necessity to form a trading market for technology.

According to an information released at the conference, in 2016, the National Assembly approved expenditure around VND17.730 trillion from the State budget for scientific and technological activities to serve the country’s development. Notably, scientific and technological advances contributed around 30%-40% to agricultural growth.

(Source: NDO)