RoK President Moon Jae-in, who is on a State visit to Vietnam from March 22-24, and Vietnamese Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh, along with representatives from a number of ministries, agencies and localities of both countries were present at the event.

Addressing the ceremony, President Moon described the event as a milestone of the RoK’s support for scientific and technological development in Vietnam, as well as close-knit relations between the two countries in all sectors. 

The enhancement of cooperation to spur Vietnam’s economic development through science and technology is evidence of the RoK’s New Look South Policy towards prosperity of both sides, he stressed. 

In her remarks, Vice President Thinh noted with pleasure the breakthrough development of Vietnam-RoK cooperative ties over the past 25 years, especially after the two countries established the strategic cooperative partnership in 2009. 

Once operational, the institute is expected to play an important role in providing technological solutions for businesses, and become a scientific and technological incubator in service of the domestic industrial sectors as well as Vietnam’s sustainable development, she said. 

Vietnamese Minster of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh said his ministry, which has been assigned to construct and manage the operation of the institute, hopes that the institute will soon become a model for the Vietnam-RoK friendship. 

To that end, the ministry has devised an operation plan for the institute, he noted, adding that it will firstly focus on completing the institute’s infrastructure to serve research activities, building and operating the personnel training system. 

Initial research activities will be carried out in 2018, aiming to address pressing technological demands of a number of industrial sectors like IT and supply-demand technology, Anh said. 

In the next five years, efforts will be made to build prestige, expand research activities and provide in-depth technological products for businesses, meeting requirements of foreign-invested firms. 

VNA