VietNamNet Bridge – Phung Duc Tien from the National Assembly’s Committee for Science, Technology and Environment talked with Thoi Bao Kinh Te (Vietnam Economic Times) about the need to use more technology in business.

The role science and technology play in the global economy been established, but it seems to be ambiguous in Vietnam. What's your opinion on this issue?

The world is entering an era of knowledge economies and brainpower civilisations. Science and technology account for a high percentage of products' value and they are the most important element in adding value to products.

In Vietnam, since the beginning of the renovation process and especially with Resolution No. 2 of the eighth Plenum of the Party Central Committee, awareness about the role of science and technology has improved and produced some momentum in economic development.

Regarding global and regional integration, many leaders, managers and enterprises have become aware that only by increasing the amount of technology we use can we compete in a market economy. The need for more technology has sped up efforts across all sectors to research and apply science and technology in business.

You have mentioned the role of science and technology in economic development. Could you speak more about that?

A number of reliable statistics have shown the role science and technology play in economic development. For example, world economic growth in 1990 increased 28.5 percent compared with that of 1982, while world commerce volume grew 57.9 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund.

In Vietnam, science and technology have greatly contributed to the socio-economic development of the country – especially in recent years. This is evident in the country's high and stable economic growth. From 2001 to 2010, the economy grew 7.26 percent a year. Vietnam's GDP in 2010 was 3.26 times that of 2000. The economic structure is moving in a positive way and the socialist-oriented market economy continues to be successful. All economic sectors have developed. Of these, industrial and services have high economic growth, with industrial processing growing 13.5 percent a year.

As a country that relies on agriculture, in your opinion, what should we do to improve the role of science and technology in this sector?

The development of science and technology in agriculture should be regarded as urgent. There are many challenges, including how to make agriculture products become commodities. The State should create policies to assist the development of science and technology in agriculture sectors to help agriculture products meet domestic and international market demand. This way they could compete better in both markets.

For agriculture to develop comprehensively, science and technology should be considered an important driving force for the sector.

Do you think we will be able to develop our agriculture methods any time soon?

In fact, a lot of outstanding science and technological achievements in recent years have been put to use, bringing about high productivity. This includes hybrid rice and maize strains. Despite the challenges ahead, I believe that with strong determination and improvements in science and technology development in the agriculture sector, Vietnam will soon become a modern agriculture production country.

VNA