Three questions with Vietnam’s new growth model

At the Strategic Dialogue Forum to identify new growth models, on the morning of June 25 in Hanoi, Minister of Science and Technology Vu Hai Quan said that finding a development model in the new era will be an issue discussed at the highest level in July, from which a policy will be proposed as a guideline for the country’s development.

Vietnam has achieved many achievements after 40 years of innovation, but the old incentives of cheap human resources and resources are rapidly weakening while the world enters a new competition for talent, technology and creative capacity. “The spirit of the new development model is based on knowledge, people and businesses are the center, the state plays a constructive role,” the Minister said.

The head of the science and technology industry assessed that to build this model, Vietnam faces three big questions related to institutions, public-private cooperation and implementation capacity.

Regarding institutions, it is necessary to build a policy framework that is flexible enough to promote new technology development while still controlling risks. Regarding cooperation, a mechanism is needed to make the relationship between the Government and businesses in technology development and risk sharing more substantive. Finally, put policies on R&D investment (research and development), cooperation, and testing into practical implementation through guidance and coordination.

“If previously growth relied on capital and resources, now science and technology is the center of the national growth model, requiring strategy building and harmonious combination of internal and external forces,” Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Hoang Giang assessed.

At the policy discussion, Associate Professor, Dr. Bui The Duy, Director of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, commented that in the past two years, Vietnam has made major changes in science and technology policies, the most important of which is updating many legal frameworks in the direction of accepting research risks, allocating at least 3% of the total annual budget expenditure for the development of science, technology, and innovation. Since 2024, the Government and National Assembly have updated and amended more than 100 laws, of which about 30 laws relate to financial regulations.

“However, there is still a gap between breakthrough policies and reality, and more decrees and implementation guidelines from relevant ministries and branches are needed,” he said. In order for big goals to be transformed into actual products and productivity, many “small bottlenecks” need to be removed, such as tax incentives for private enterprises to stimulate investment and management of scientific tasks at institutes and schools.

Meanwhile, Ms. Astrid Dita, head of the AI ​​and Asian innovation department of the Tony Blair Institute, said that to ensure flexibility in promoting and developing technology, Vietnam can classify components of strategic technology according to three levels of “control”, “orientation” and “dependence”.

Specifically, components related to national data, key systems, network security, digital identities and platforms serving state governance should be controlled. With areas such as standards, tools, and testing mechanisms, the State can play a guiding role and assign tasks to organizations and businesses. With core components requiring large-scale investment such as AI models and advanced chips, Vietnam should cooperate internationally and control risks by diversifying partners.

“Public investment should go into platforms that many sectors can use,” Ms. Dita said. These are shared research infrastructure, large data sets and human capital development. Experts also note that the Government’s investment in the foundation needs to be long-term, especially with technologies such as quantum and semiconductor that Vietnam is pursuing.

Sharing the same opinion, Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa, General Director of FPT, proposed that the Government build a shared infrastructure for the innovation ecosystem, including computing capacity, high quality data, cloud computing, and network security. These laboratories need to be associated with the goals of product development and commercialization and will be the foundation for businesses and institutions to jointly carry out R&D (research and development).

He also said that for technology to come into practice, a mechanism for ordering product output is needed. “The state and large businesses must be customers of new technology,” he emphasized.

Minister Vu Hai Quan said that the Ministry of Science and Technology will listen to policy recommendations to improve institutions, develop infrastructure and create a favorable environment for the science, technology and innovation ecosystem.

The strategic dialogue forum with the theme Establishing a new growth model: Promoting strategic technologies to enhance competitiveness and sustainable growth was organized by the Ministry of State in collaboration with the Weatherhead East Asia Institute, Columbia University and the US-ASEAN Business Council. The forum aims to create a mechanism for exchange between the state and businesses in the field of technology, and propose solutions to develop science, technology and innovation.