Vietnam-Hong Kong Sci-Tech Diplomacy Bridges Strategic Cooperation

The 11th Belt & Road Summit offers a practical opportunity to promote Vietnam’s investment environment and support Vietnamese businesses seeking investment opportunities in Hong Kong. Among the leading choices for international students is the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), ranked 33rd globally in the QS World University Rankings 2027 and sixth in the QS Asia University Rankings 2026. Its computer science programme, including key fields such as AI and machine learning, ranks first in Hong Kong. Hong Kong remained Vietnam's fifth-largest foreign investor in 2025. Bilateral trade also recorded remarkable growth of more than 70% during the year, with Vietnam's exports to Hong Kong surging by over 90%, making Vietnam the third-largest exporter to the market after mainland China and Taiwan (China). The Ministry of Science and Technology has named the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) as the focal point to gather research problems and match them with experts under national sci-tech schemes, said NAFOSTED Deputy Director Nguyen Phu Binh. Building on its existing AI network, NAFOSTED will build a system to track those problems alongside a database of Vietnamese scientists abroad. Ho Chi Minh City is finalising a comprehensive policy framework for identifying, recruiting, deploying, remunerating, assessing, developing and retaining high-quality personnel. It will pursue three approaches – attraction, recruitment and selection – to expand the talent pool while effectively utilising capable personnel already within the system. Discussions covered India’s technology and innovation ecosystem; Vietnam’s strategic priorities, potential and strengths; technology partnership models and specialised technologies; and cooperation in quality workforce training and technology transfer. The two countries can complement each other and work closely together to develop human resources, SSIA Executive Director Ang Wee Seng said, stressing that the workforce must be able to adapt and reskill as technology evolves, particularly as advanced manufacturing moves towards AI-supported smart manufacturing. Developing specialised semiconductor chips is a suitable pathway for leveraging Vietnam’s strengths and gradually moving deeper into the global semiconductor value chain. Nguyen Van Nam, representative of the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (VECO), and Prof. Yuei-An Liou, Honorary Chairman of VNEAT, spoke highly of the association's role as a bridge, while affirming VECO's active support for activities aimed at connecting intellectual resources and developing the Vietnamese expert community in Taiwan, China. Nearly two years after the Politburo issued Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW on December 22, 2024, on breakthroughs in science and technology, innovation and national digital transformation, localities have been focusing on solutions that address specific needs and deliver tangible benefits. TECHFEST 2026 will adopt an open-air format to encourage public participation and direct interaction with startups, businesses and investors. Key activities will include an opening ceremony, startup product exhibitions, technology demonstrations and the final round of the national innovative startup talent competition. VJSS-2026 provides a platform for scientists, experts and businesses to discuss the latest advances across a wide range of areas, from chip design, semiconductor components and materials to manufacturing, packaging and testing technologies, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Politburo Resolution No. 70-NQ/TW, dated August 20, 2025, on ensuring national energy security through 2030 with a vision to 2045, identifies firmly ensuring national energy security as a fundamental and important prerequisite for national development. It calls for adequate, stable and high-quality energy supplies for socio-economic development, national defence and security, improved living standards and environmental protection. “AI Arena: Viet Nam 2026" contest aims to improve students’ ability to use generative AI, design prompts and develop products. Using Google Gemini and Google AI Studio, contestants will analyse problems, develop ideas and create proof-of-concept products within a limited time. The list of six priority strategic technology products set out in the Prime Minister's Decision No. 2815/QD-TTg demonstrates an important shift in policy-making thinking, with businesses playing the central role in the innovation ecosystem and serving as the core element in the country’s goal of double-digit growth in the new era. One approach Vietnam should prioritise is the application of Big Data, AI and bioinformatics in genetic resource research, thereby shortening the time needed to identify genes of economic value. Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Hoang Minh said a safe AI future must be built on each country's governance capacity and trust among partners. Vietnam, therefore, wishes to work with China and ASEAN member states to contribute to such a future for the benefit of the people and the prosperity of the region. Participation in the international finals of Global HackAtom 2026 in Russia from September 11–17 offers Vietnamese students an opportunity to compete directly with peers from leading Russian universities with long-standing traditions in nuclear science, including Tomsk Polytechnic University and the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI. Jointly organised by Sea Limited and OpenAI, the contest is expected to provide participants with hands-on experience in artificial intelligence, while also offering a platform to exchange ideas and connect with members of the country’s fast-growing AI and developer community. A delegation from the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee’s Commission for Policy and Strategy paid a working visit to France from September 13-16, focusing on exchanging experience in science and technology, innovation, startup ecosystems and human resources development. Experts said the Mekong Delta region does not lack data, but valuable information collected by government agencies, universities, businesses, projects and communities is scattered across different locations and formats, making it difficult to access, compare and use effectively. Under the direction of the Government and the Ministry of Public Security, the ministry’s Police Department for Administrative Management of Social Order (C06) has led efforts to review and standardise information on martyrs and their relatives, collect DNA samples from relatives, and build and manage a DNA database. It also coordinates with forensic agencies to compare DNA data and identify the remains of fallen soldiers. The rapid growth of EVs is creating new infrastructure challenges for cities, requiring charging networks to be planned according to travel demand, power supply capacity and available urban space. Copyright