Hanoi (VNA) – Party General Secretary To Lam on December 6 welcomed international scientists and experts who are in Vietnam to attend the 4th VinFuture Prize awarding ceremony.

At the reception, the Party chief extended congratulations to the guests, particularly those excelling in the domains of AI, materials science, environmental research and medical applications honoured at the VinFuture Prize, which, he said, represents Vietnam’s spirit of global learning and aspiration to reach out to the world so as to become a pioneer in science- technology and innovation.

He laid stress on the Vietnamese Party, State and people’s vision and determination to deliver on development goals, transforming Vietnam into an upper middle-income nation with modern industry by 2030 and a high-income developed country by 2045. Sharing Vietnam’s major policies and orientations, he said science-technology and innovation have been considered as a strategic breakthrough and motive for enhancing productivity, quality, and competitive capacity while ensuring sustainable development.

Lam commended the meaningful initiative of the VinFuture Prize and expressed his deep appreciation to leading international scientists and experts for continuing partnership with Vietnam, sharing expertise, providing advice, and fostering cooperation and investment between the country and global universities, research institutions, and tech giants.

He urged the international scientists and experts to maintain close collaboration with and provide support for Vietnam in key areas such as policy consultancy for new science and technology development, high-quality human resources training for the semiconductor and artificial intelligence industries, and development of innovation centres.

For his part, Professor Richard Henry Friend, Chair of the VinFuture Prize Council, affirmed the prize's international significance and the meaningful contributions of this year's laureates to promoting global cooperation, connecting groundbreaking ideas, and inspiring younger generations to settle global challenges for a better society and life.

International scientists and experts spoke highly of the Vietnamese Party and Government’s vision and major orientations on developing and capitalising on science-technology and innovation to create strategic motives for breakthroughs.

They recognised the country's positive progress in digital transformation and application of modern technologies in various sectors while highlighting the potential for collaboration between tech giants and the Vietnamese business community in the research and development as well as application of new technologies.

A𝔉dditionally, they proposed collaborative initiatives in such areas as AI ecosystem development, energy transition, digital economy, research and development, human resource training, and technology applications in agriculture and transport, gradually making Vietnam a bright spot in new technologies in the region and the world./.