(VOVworld)- Promoting scientific and technological development is one of the main agenda items of the 6^th plenum of the 11^th Party Central Committee. Vietnam’s science and technology has developed rapidly in recent past, but it has not kept pace with national socio-economic development. It’s now an urgent task to reform the management mechanism to increase science and technology’s contribution to national development.

In recent years, science and technology have contributed greatly to Vietnam’s socio economic development, ensuring national security and improving people’s lives. Several scientific theses have contributed to mapping out policies and guidelines for national development. The natural sciences have witnessed major achievements in pure and applied research serving socio economic development goals and improving Vietnam’s international prestige in the fields of mathematics and physics. Science and technology have also contributed to the development of manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, construction and information technology. Particularly, The agriculture and healthcare sectors have grown 35% thanks to science and technology.

Despite this growth, science and technology have not met the needs of national development because they have been too theoretical and impractical. This has posed an urgent need to reform scientific and technological activities. The Prime Minister in April approved the Strategy for Scientific and Technological Development until 2020. Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan elaborates: "The strategy sets out specific objectives and solutions to promote science and technology in Vietnam. By 2020, science and technology will make a much greater contribution to economic growth and restructuring, and high tech products and technological applications will provide 45% of the GDP. The pace of scientific and technological reforms will exceed 20% in the 2006-2020 period and transaction values in the science and technology market will increase 15 to 17% a year. Vietnam will try to be a leading country in ASEAN in terms of scientific and technological development".

Under the strategy, the number of state funded scientific and technological projects announced internationally will increase 15 to 20% a year and efficiency will double. Vietnam’s investment in science and technology will total 2% of GDP by 2020. The country intends to set up 60 centers for high tech development and a network of 5,000 enterprises involved in science and technology. By 2020, 12 out of every 10,000 people will work in science and technology and there will be nearly 2,000 science and technology organizations. 

According to Party resolutions, science and technology is a key to boosting national economic growth. " It’s important to increase investment in and improve the country’s scientific and technological capacity. In addition to 2% investment from the state budget, we need to mobilize private contributions. To ensure that science and technology will receive 2% of the GDP, enterprises’ contributions must be 3 to 4 times higher than state investments. In addition, we need to put in place incentives to encourage enterprises and organizations to spend money on scientific development for their own organization and locality", said Minister Quan.

Minister Quan says the Ministry of Science and Technology is working on a project to reform scientific and technological activities.