HANOI, VIETNAM – On October 14, 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Vietnam, through its Department of Economic Diplomacy, hosted the International Conference on Strategic Technology Development. This high-level event provided strategic input for Vietnam’s technology development and commercialization policies as the nation enters its next phase of growth following Resolution 57. Opened by Mr. Lê Anh Tuấn, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the hybrid forum brought together world-leading experts in Hanoi and over 200 remote participants from around the globe to discuss the evolution of the national strategic technology ecosystem.
Representatives from Australia and other countries
The Australia-Vietnam Strategic Technologies Centre (AVSTC) and Australian partners contributed academic and diplomatic perspectives to dialogue. Prof. Diep N. Nguyen, Director of the AVSTC, alongside Prof. Eryk Dutkiewicz, Associate Dean-International at UTS, delivered a featured discussion on the transition “from lab to market”. They shared models for commercializing research that are relevant to Vietnam’s emerging landscape. To bridge this gap, research engineers who play a critical role in research translation must be trained/developed quickly in Vietnam in coming years. The Australian perspective was further represented by Ms. Danielle Cashen, First Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Vietnam, and Prof. Ali Abbas, Associate Dean Research at the University of Sydney, who engaged in roundtable discussions regarding the development of collaborative training and research models with industry.
The dialogue examined investment mobilization and policy implementation with global industry leaders like Ms. Astrid Dita, Head of Partnerships of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Mr. Atul Tandon, General Director of AstraZeneca Vietnam and representatives from EU Delegation to Vietnam, Singapore, U.S. Department of Commerce. Experts concurred that the strategic advantage of Vietnam in the coming decades will be the country’s talents, not the cheap labour. Higher education and R&D investment thus should be of the highest priority.
Deputy Minister of MOFA H.E. Mr. Le Anh Tuan and representatives at the event
The discussion also focused on turning knowledge into value while participants shared on maintaining data sovereignty during knowledge transfers and the necessity of upgrading domestic laboratories to international standards. A significant portion of the session focused on shortening the commercialization lifecycle by linking institutes and universities directly with enterprises, especially SMEs to meet market needs. Experts including Prof. Laurent El Ghaoui, Vice Provost of VinUni, Dr. Vu Xuan Thang of the University of Luxembourg, established a comprehensive roadmap for ensuring that technical research results in substantive economic value. The event concluded with potential follow-ups including a special session with experts from Australia.
