Vietnam makes steady progress in innovation, says UN official
VOV.VN - Vietnam has achieved steady progress in realising its vision of innovation, technology and digital transformation, said Pauline Tamesis, UN resident coordinator, at a meeting in Hanoi on April 19 marking World Creativity and Innovation Day.
Tamesis cited the World Intellectual Property Organisation saying Vietnam clinched two notches up in the Global Innovation Index 2023 compared to the 2022 edition, ranking 46th out of 132 listed economies.
This progress is critical for Vietnam to achieve its vision of becoming a high-income developed country by 2045, and the United Nations supports the country’s endeavour towards this goal, she affirmed.
According to Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat, the United Nations General Assembly has since 2017 chosen April 21 every year as World Creativity and Innovation Day, aiming to raise awareness of the role of creativity and innovation in sustainable socio-economic development.
The Ministry of Science and Technology has since 2022 organized activities in response to World Creativity and Innovation Day and received enthusiastic attention and participation from many ministries, sectors, localities and organizations throughout the country, said Dat at the meeting.
He went on to say the 2024 event themed ‘Inspire’ was held to encourage organizations and individuals to join hands to promote innovation activities in all social and economic sectors.
Currently, the legal system on intellectual property in Vietnam is increasingly improving, creating motivation to promote and support innovation activities, including the application of scientific and technological research results to business production, contributing to the country’s socio-economic development.
The World Bank held that Vietnam still has much room to step up innovation in businesses, especially amongst small and medium-sized enterprises.
In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, innovation is considered a new driving force for rapid and sustainable development of the country. Experts said Vietnam needs to focus on developing high-quality human resources and improving research capacity on innovation. To achieve the goal, they suggested Vietnam should address difficulties in mechanisms and policies for developing innovation and creative skills, and at the same time solve urgent practical problems.
Minister Dat also said Vietnam should continue to improve its innovation capacity in the coming period, in order to directly contribute to increasing labour productivity and product quality, ensuring environmental protection, and spurring sustainable development.
