Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam has been striving to improve its legalframework and policies on science and technology in order to boost productivityand economic competitiveness and make innovation a driver of growth.

A total of 16 governmental and seven ministerial documents were issued lastyear to enhance financial mechanisms for the development of science andtechnology, particularly on mobilising non-State budget capital and attracting askilled workforce.

Vietnam is now home to 687 organisations conducting science andtechnology studies, 236 universities, three high-tech parks, 13 high-techagricultural zones, and eight information technology (IT) parks.

The country has spent 2 percent of its State budget annually on scienceand technology. Infrastructure for studies in key sub-sectors, includingbiotechnology, petro-chemistry, materials, energy, automation, nanotechnology,computational technology, and medicine have also seen substantial investments.

It ranked 42nd among 131 economies for the second consecutive year inthe 2020 Global Innovation Index (GII). Among economies making the mostsignificant progress in their GII innovation rankings over time, Vietnam wasfirst among 29 lower middle-income countries and third in Southeast Asia.

Compared to its own index in the previous year, it posted higher levelsin a number of indicators, including business sophistication, rising from 69thto 39th place, and creative output, from 47th to 38th.

Vietnam has used the GII as an important management tool since 2017, with itsindex rising from 71st place in 2014 to 59th in 2016 and 42nd last year.

This year, the Ministry of Science and Technology will focus efforts onamending policies in financing and investing in science and technologydevelopment and innovation projects, in particular the draft of the revised Lawon Intellectual Property./.