The ninth meeting of the Vietnam-the Republic of Korea (RoK) Joint Committee on Science and Technology cooperation was held in Seoul on October 24 under the co-chair of Vietnamese Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat and Korean Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho.

The ninth meeting of the Vietnam-the Republic of Korea (RoK) Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation was held in Seoul on October 24 under the co-chair of Vietnamese Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat and Korean Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho.

The meeting was part of the activities to implement the action programme to realise the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries which was established during RoK President Yoon Suk Yeol’s visit to Vietnam in June.

Addressing the event, Lee underscored the increasingly strong impact of science and technology on life and socio-economic activities. He said that by promoting the policy coordination and cooperation in new areas, the two countries can optimise each other’s strengths and together cope with challenges they are facing.

He pointed to the considerable results of joint research between the two countries and the positive human resources exchange within typical cooperation projects, underlining that the Korean side hopes science-technology collaboration between the two countries will be further fostered through the joint committee mechanism.

For his part, Dat highlighted the great cooperation potential between the two countries in the field of science and technology.

The two sides can supplement each other in many areas, he said, affirming that the signing of the minute of the ninth meeting shows the commitment of the two countries in implementing cooperation contents within the mechanism, laying a foundation for the promotion of bilateral comprehensive partnership in the future.

The meeting aimed to share major policies in science and technology of the two countries, while seeking measures to expand bilateral collaboration in new areas.

During the meeting, the Korean side introduced three major strategies and 17 tasks of its 5th Basic Science and Technology Plan for the 2023-2027 period, while Vietnam briefed the Korean side on the country’s science-technology renovation policy, thus enhancing mutual understanding on each other’s science-technology policies.

Participants also evaluated their science-technology partnership over the years and discussed ways to continue beefing up their ties in the field, including expanding the scale of science-technology and innovation cooperation, diversifying collaboration forms, and supporting Vietnam to implement the second phase of the Vietnam- Korea Institute of Science and Technology (VKIST).

The RoK will share with Vietnam its database on artificial intelligence (AI), promote cooperation on AI, digital transformation and core technology as well as source technology of Fourth Industrial Revolution, and strengthen its support in capacity improvement training to Vietnam.

The two sides will work together to connect the startup ecosystems of the two countries. They agreed to continue to support the construction of the RoK’s research and development (R&D) centres in Vietnam.

The Vietnam-RoK Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation meets annually following the bilateral science-technology cooperation agreement signed in April 1995. In the previous eight meetings, the committee discussed different ways of cooperation in the field of science and technology.

The two sides agreed to hold the 10th meeting of the committee in Vietnam./.