Vietnam promotes cooperation on innovation with Belgian partners

Vietnam desires to bolster cooperation with countries with strengths in science and technology, such as the Kingdom of Belgium - one of the most innovative countries in Europe.

John Cockerill Group of Belgium, and the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam National Innovation Center (NICS) sign a Memorandum of Understanding  (Photo:VNA)

This was one of the major issues raised for discussion during the meeting on February 20 between Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung and Belgian partners Hub.Brussels, IMEC Interuniversity Microelectronics Center and John Group Cockerill.

Innovation, science and technology have been the main pillars of Vietnam in the nearly 40-year Doi Moi (renewal) process with many important achievements.

The vision defined by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) is that by 2045, Vietnam will become a modern industrialized country.

Meanwhile, Belgium boasts huge potential to cooperate and support Vietnam in new technologies and renewable energy, especially in connection with the electronic circuit manufacturing technology industry.

Minister Nguyen Chi Dung led a delegation of ministries, innovation centers, research institutes and universities to pay a working visit to Belgium from February 18-21 in a bid to concretize the results of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s business trip to Belgium in December 2022 regarding the promotion of innovation cooperation.

Hub.Brussels is a leading intersectoral organization in Brussels that supports business in general, including startups, its incubation programs, and networks of experts and, financial resources.

IMEC is one of the leading research and development centers in Europe and in the world in the field of semiconductors and nanotechnology, especially new technologies for industries, smart manufacturing, mobile equipment, smart city development, and energy,

John Cockerill is Belgium's leading industrial group with more than 200 years of history. The Group operates in the field of manufacturing machinery and industrial solutions in a variety of sectors including energy, the environment, hydrogen, defence, industrial services.

In the field of hydrogen, John Cockerill is one of the two leading large investors in the world.

Working with Hub.Brussels, Minister Nguyen Chi Dung welcomed the cooperation contents of this organization with the Vietnam National Innovation Center (NIC), after the Minister's meeting with Hub.Brussels leaders in December 2022.

Accordingly, Hub.Brussels and NIC have agreed on the possibility of cooperation in a number of contents such as sharing best experiences to improve innovation and startup capacity in Vietnam and the European Union (EU).

Minister Nguyen Chi Dung suggested Hub.Brussels advise and support the NIC on the operation and development of the innovation and start-up center, investment fund connection, incubation, and innovation and startup promotion.

In 2023, the Minister assigned NIC and the Vietnam Innovation Network in Europe (VINEU) to coordinate with Hub.Brussels to research and build an exchange program for startups to bring a number of Vietnamese businesses that are highly interested in surveying, working,and studying at Hub.Brussels,

This is addition to organizing networking programs for startups to access technology, markets in Belgium and Europe.

Dung suggested that Hub.Brussels will be the focal point to connect and support the search for innovation partners in Belgium in particular and the European region in general for NIC, especially those with new advanced technologies in order to set up an office at NIC Hoa Lac campus.

The Minister also invited Hub.Brussels to open a representative office located at NIC Hoa Lac to cooperate with NIC to develop an innovative startup ecosystem in Vietnam and connect with the ecosystem in Belgium.

Annelore Isaac - Deputy CEO of Hub.Brussels - emphasized that innovation and creativity are important issues and expressed her belief in the cooperation with the Vietnamese side in order to boost cooperation in health care, and construction.

Hub.Brussels is ready to support Vietnamese start-ups selected to be sent to Belgium to study, and also wishes to bring some Belgian startups to Vietnam, she said.

On this occasion, Hub.Brussels, NIC and VINEU signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in innovation and entrepreneurship.

Working with the IMEC Center, Minister Nguyen Chi Dung emphasized that the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam is greatly interested in and wishes to step up cooperation between IMEC and Vietnamese organizations and businesses, especially research cooperation to develop the semiconductor industry in Vietnam, thereby participating in the global semiconductor supply chain.

In 2023, the Minister proposed that IMEC coordinate with NIC and Vietnamese training institutions (such as Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology) to organize cooperation programs on training for students and engineers in the semiconductor industry, while supporting Vietnamese electronics and semiconductor students’ study and research at IMEC's system of universities and research facilities.

On the other hand, the Minister suggested IMEC develop private programs, support and improve the capacity of Vietnamese enterprises in becoming involved in the semiconductor industry, with a particular focus on major technology enterprises in Vietnam such as VNPT, Viettel, CMC, FPT, in order to develop research facilities on microelectronics, microchips, chips - semiconductors at NIC Hoa Lac campus.

Within the framework of the working session, IMEC and NIC signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in developing the semiconductor industry capacity for Vietnam. Accordingly, IMEC researched the possibility of cooperation in developing a semiconductor R&D center in the Southeast Asian nation.

The two sides cooperate to develop a program to improve research and production capacity of semiconductors in Vietnam and for Vietnamese enterprises.

Talking to leaders of John Cockerill Group, Minister Nguyen Chi Dung emphasized that Vietnam is very interested in the hydrogen field, which is currently the strength of the Belgian group.

Vietnam has large resources in renewable energy such as wind energy, solar energy, green hydrogen. The nation’s industrial factories urgently need to convert to an environmentally friendly way.

Therefore, Vietnam wants to cooperate comprehensively with John Cockerill in the energy field, he went on to say.

Minister Nguyen Chi Dung hailed John Cockerill's interest, investment intention as well as swift and drastic action towards the Vietnamese market.

Since the first meeting of John Cockerill during the Prime Minister's visit to Belgium in December 2022, John Cockerill has actively worked and coordinated with Vietnamese ministries, especially the Ministry of Planning and Investment, to research and promote cooperation opportunities.

The Minister wished John Cockerill to become a strategic partner of Vietnam through the rapid implementation of cooperation programs and research and development projects and investment projects in Vietnam.

For his part, Group leader John Cockerill expressed his desire to make a comprehensive and strategic investment in Vietnam and turn its operations in Vietnam into a hub to serve the Southeast Asian market and possibly the Northeast Asian market.

John Cockerill is keen to focus on solutions related to energy conversion including biomass energy (biomass), hydrogen, low carbon solutions in energy.

At the meeting, John Cockerill and NIC signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which, the Belgian Group will consider investing in R&D at NIC in a number of topics related to green hydrogen, laboratory for biomass fuel products, and product development related to cooling technology in power plants and industrial sectors.

Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said Belgian centers and corporations have goodwill, and are eager to cooperate and transfer technology, and support human resource training for Vietnam.

The Belgian side is ready to send experts to Vietnam to support and invest in the fields of high technology and new energy such as hydrogen energy, biomass energy, in accordance with the needs of energy transformation- the goal that Vietnam pledged at the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) that is to bring net domestic emissions to zero by 2050.

Also on February 20, Minister Nguyen Chi Dung worked with VINEU's Board of Directors. The Minister affirmed that VINEU will be an extension arm of NIC to connect and exchange with Vietnamese and international experts and partners to participate in research, proposal, strategy development, call for investment, and look for the best and most suitable technology for Vietnam.

The Minister also welcomed the fact that VINEU has actively connected a number of Vietnamese experts in this field.        

In 2023, VINEU will organize a bilateral cooperation promotion seminar on energy transition towards net zero emissions by 2050" in Berlin, and Vietnam Innovation Festival in Europe, participate in the VIC contest organized by NIC, and boost promote cooperation with Hub.Brussels as well as connect a group of experts and scientists in the field of semiconductors to advise Vietnam on this technology field.

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