Vietnamese leader To Lam meets OV intellectuals of Francophone community

At the meeting, the intellectuals shared their experiences and proposed ideas on various issues, including multilateral cooperation in technology and artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, growth and development, major challenges in the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) for economic growth, and the benefits of applying blockchain technology in healthcare services.

Dr. Nguyen Thanh Phuong, an overseas Vietnamese from Luxembourg, recommended that the government enhance multilateral cooperation in technology and artificial intelligence with other Francophone countries that have similar conditions and needs like Vietnam, particularly in applications such as medical diagnostics, health records, smart agriculture management, and weather and climate change forecasting.

Sharing insights on promoting sustainable growth and enterprise development, Assoc. Prof. Thai Thi Thanh Mai, an overseas Vietnamese from Canada, emphasized that in the context of a startup and innovation economy, Vietnam needs to proactively keep pace with global trends by standardizing the requirements of the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) framework to measure sustainable development and the impact of businesses on the community.

She proposed that, in addition to creating an appropriate legal framework, an important measure is to integrate startup education, focusing on fostering startup skills among students. There should also be close coordination between the business sector and educational institutions to provide students with opportunities to practice what they have learned.

With regard to the application of blockchain technology in health care, Dr. Vo Cam Quy, an overseas Vietnamese from Switzerland, stressed the need for security solutions in this industry, as it records the highest rate of data breaches, accounting for about 26% of all attacks.

Practical applications of blockchain can address security issues in health care, said Dr. Quy, adding monitoring the pharmaceutical supply chain through blockchain can help prevent counterfeit drugs and ensure transparency in distribution.

Party General Secretary and President To Lam for his part highly appreciated the intellectuals’ heartfelt and responsible opinions, affirming that the contributions of Vietnamese intellectuals abroad to their host countries and to Vietnam are invaluable resources.

He said that his working trip to France for the 19th Francophonie Summit aimed to reaffirm Vietnam’s role as a key member of the Francophone community in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as its active and responsible participation in the activities of the Francophone community and the international community in general.

To Lam briefed the intellectuals on Vietnam’s major development policies and goals in the coming years which he said cannot be met without support from international friends and Vietnamese expatriates overseas.

“Our goal is to develop our economy to nearly three times its current size, and to achieve this, there is no choice but to develop science and technology. We must take advantage of every opportunity to move forward…. I hope that scientists and intellectuals here, who have acquired modern technologies worldwide, will distill and contribute these advancements to the fatherland,” said the Party and State leader.

The General Secretary and President expressed his happiness about the potential of the Vietnamese community abroad, highlighting the growing strength of the intellectuals within this community. He affirmed the important role of both the community as a whole and the intellectuals in realizing the fatherland’s development goals.

He reaffirmed the Party and State’s consistent policy towards the Vietnamese community abroad that are now mounting to approximately 6 million, saying they are an inseparable part of the Vietnamese nation.

“The Party and State highly value and create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community abroad,” said To Lam.

He expressed hope for continued cooperation and support from the Vietnamese community abroad, particularly from the intellectuals within the Francophone community, to the fatherland.

The leader requested that the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, relevant ministries and sectors, as well as Vietnamese representative agencies abroad, actively listen to and embrace the contributions of overseas Vietnamese.