The Vietnam-Korea Institute of Science and Technology (VKIST) was inaugurated on January 17 at the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park in Hanoi. The VKIST is one of Vietnam’s largest research and development (R&D) centers which has been under construction since 2014 thanks to official development aid from South Korea worth USD 70 million. It is co-managed by the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
The VKIST and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) plan to collaborate on research in a variety of areas, including the Fourth Industrial Revolution, eco-friendly technology, and digital innovation. According to a representative from KIST, the VKIST’s launch had special significance because it happened after the two nations celebrated their 30th diplomatic anniversary last month. The Korean Vice Science Minister has pledged to increase research collaboration between the two nations in order to further assist the VKIST’s goal of becoming a science-technology R&D center in Southeast Asia.
According to data from the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), the ICT economy generated an estimated USD 148 billion in revenue in 2022, a rise of 8.7% from the previous year. In 2022, the digital economy’s share of the whole national GDP was roughly 14.26%, of which the ICT digital economy accounted for 7.18%. Ministries, industries, and localities have published digital transformation programs and as many as 500 million accounts have been registered so far for using made-in-Vietnam digital platforms – the largest-ever figure.
(Source: Aju Business Daily, VietnamPlus)