World Bank to fund Vietnam’s FIRST project
The World Bank (WB) will provide US$100 million to help Vietnam implement the Fostering Innovation through Research, Science and Technology (FIRST) project which was inaugurated on November 7.
The funding is to realise a financial agreement reached by the State Bank of Vietnam and the WB on July 25, 2013.
Addressing the event, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan praised the WB’s support, saying that the project aims to turn knowledge into goods and technological capacity for businesses.
It is expected to bring businesses and scientists closer and apply science and technology to the cause of poverty reduction and economic development, Quan said.
Victoria Kwakwa, WB Country Director for Vietnam, affirmed the significance of technological education, research and innovation to each country’s prosperity, affirming that the WB stands ready to help Vietnam implement projects in this field.
The FIRST project, to last from 2014 to 2019, has a total investment of US$110 million, including US$100 million from the WB and the remainder from Vietnam.
It includes three components, including knowledge and policy development, supporting Government research institutes’ reform and enterprises’ innovation, and project management.
Its long-term objective is to raise the competitiveness and quality of Vietnam’s economic growth through the acceleration of scientific research, technological application and innovation activities.