The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Australian Government seek to boost co-operation on science, technology and creative innovation, with the official launch of the Australia – Viet Nam Innovative Project, under the name Aus4Innovation, on Thursday.

Australian Ambassador to Viet Nam Craig Chittick (right) and Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh at the launch of Aus4Innovation programme. — Photo zing.vn

Aus4Innovation is the keynote programme designed to implement the Partnership on Innovation between Australia and Viet Nam, which was initially established at APEC 2017 by former Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Julie Bishop and Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh.

“Through Aus4Innovation, we want to share Australia’s best knowledge and experience in both public and private sectors, in order to support Việt Nam to utilise the benefits of new technology to build the future of the economy,” Australian Ambassador to Viet Nam Craig Chittick said.

Aus4Innovation is a AU$10 million (US$7.2 million) cooperative development programme, which was designed to strengthen Viet Nam’s innovative ecosystem, build long-term partnerships between scientists and researchers, and support the Vietnamese Government and people in seizing the opportunities offered by Industry 4.0.

“Asia is on the threshold of major changes and the Aus4Innovation programme is an interesting opportunity for Australia to support Việt Nam in utilising their experience and skills, and establishing new and long-term science and technology connections,” said Chittick.

“This is also a prime example of our approach in further boosting the Viet Nam – Australia Strategic Partnership.”

Aus4Innovation helps discover emerging fields in digital technology, experiment with new partnership models between organisations in public and private sectors, enhance Viet Nam’s capability in technology foresight, construct scenarios, commercialise technological research, and formulate policies relating to innovation. — VNS