Nguyen Hoang Giang, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, said at the Vietnam Day of Science and Technology on May 14 that the Vietnamese contingent of intellectuals and scientists has been expanding rapidly, making great contributions to the development of the city.

“The joint efforts and consensus of experts, scientists and officers in the science and technology sector will create new achievements, successes and new positions, contributing to building Hanoi into a science and technology center of the country and the region," Giang said.

Phu, who worked in the capital city for many years, commented that Hanoi is "sitting on a gold mine with a lot of great advantages, including the intelligence of scientists and experts, but whether it can exploit these advantages remains a question".

He hopes that in the time to come, Hanoi will pioneer policies to attract more talent and promote scientists during the development process.

Reasonable working environments that encourage dynamism and creativity, and favorable conditions for workers, will be the key to attract talent.

Phu said Hanoi’s leaders need to meet, listen and exchange views with experts and scientists on important, sensitive and complicated problems of Hanoi, in order to share the responsibility to help develop Hanoi into a political, economic and cultural center of the country.

“Experts and scientists all love Hanoi and want to make their contribution to the city's development. It is necessary to ask them to share their concerns. If so, we will be able to successfully exploit the gold mine we have,” Phu said.

Prof Tran Dinh Long agreed that Hanoi is rich in its labor force and facilities, but still cannot take full advantage of these great resources.

Hanoi Mayor Tran Sy Thanh said that opinions and reports will be collected for research and application in an effort to mobilize resources and scientists’ experiences. He said that municipal authorities will soon design a mechanism to place "orders" with scientists on solutions to solve problems the capital city is facing.

To solve Hanoi’s problems in transport and green and smart city development, Thanh said Hanoi will organize thematic seminars to listen to suggestions by scientists and experts.

Quang Phong