This is one of the activities during the working trip of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to visit and work in the UK and France and attend the COP26 Conference.
Attending at the UK bridge point were Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung - Minister of Information and Communications; leaders of Viettel Group, VNPT, CPC, UK Technology Association, UK Business Council.
At the Binh Duong bridge point, there were Ms. Emily Hamblin - British Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City; Mr. Nguyen Van Loi - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial Delegation of National Assembly Deputies; Mr. Vo Van Minh - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Mr. Nguyen Van Hung - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Becamex IDC Corporation; the Vice Chairmen of the Provincial People's Committee; leaders of provincial departments, committees and branches.
Mr. Pham Ngoc Thuan - General Director of Becamex IDC signs a cooperation agreement with CPC under the witness of provincial leaders
According to the signed content, Becamex IDC and CPC identified specific areas to strengthen cooperation, including programs, initiatives and formal agreement formation in the areas of: Determining the scope and roadmap for the next phase of the innovation journey of Binh Duong Smart City, Binh Duong Innovation Region, Binh Duong Science and Technology Industrial Park; establishing a Memorandum of Understanding reflecting the 5-year development roadmap of Binh Duong and the cooperation between Becamex IDC and CPC; building programs to innovate and attract quality foreign direct investment into Binh Duong, enhancing export opportunities for UK small and medium-size enterprises. In addition, the two sides will explore other areas where they can cooperate in order to maximize the potentials and advantages of the sides.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hung - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Becamex IDC Corporation speaks at the ceremony
Mr. Nguyen Van Hung - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Becamex IDC Corporation said, after a very active working period from the beginning of 2021 between Becamex IDC Corporation and the British Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City; the visit and work with provincial leaders, Becamex IDC Corporation, Eastern International University by Ms. Emily Hamblin - British Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City in April 2021, Becamex IDC Corporation and CPC identify this cooperation as an ideal opportunity for Binh Duong to connect more strongly with UK's technology, start-up and innovation enterprises, promote British experience in science and technology in the development of Binh Duong in the new period. At the same time, the UK's technology, start-up and innovation enterprises have a very good opportunity to research and understand potential markets in Vietnam, increasing opportunities for long-term cooperation in Vietnam in particular and the Asia in general.
The cooperation between CPC and Becamex IDC aims to support the development of Binh Duong Smart City, Binh Duong Innovation Region and Binh Duong Science and Technology Industrial Park for the next stage in the innovation journey, creating a complete investment attraction model with 2 core values: Being a science and technology center in which tripartite cooperation (government, enterprises and research institutes) is encouraged, promoted, replicated; being the center of R&D and production of industries with high scientific and technical content and high added value.
Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung speaks at the ceremony
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung emphasized that Vietnam is a big market for enterprises to cooperate and invest in projects in technology, digital transformation, and smart city construction. Particularly, Binh Duong province has achieved remarkable results in smart city construction. The Minister believed that with the experience of CPC and the accumulated background of Becamex IDC and the support from the Governments of the two countries, the British Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City and the authorities of Binh Duong province, the cooperation of Becamex IDC and CPC will soon bring good results. CPC plays the role of a bridge for many UK enterprises to come to Binh Duong, helping Binh Duong step by step upgrade its ecosystem from labor-intensive production to transition to an innovation ecosystem. Through this cooperation, the UK enterprise community has the opportunity to grow stronger in Binh Duong in particular and in Vietnam and Asia in general.
The Connected Places Catapult (formerly Future Cities Catapult of the UK Government) is a consulting partner of UK Research and Innovation (UK Research and Innovation Foundation funded by UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy); is the UK's leading innovation accelerator in the field of creating places, smart cities (Smart Cities also known as Connected Places), transportation and built environment. CPC has worked with many cities and regions around the world to develop and build a leading innovation environment with high applicability and practical value.
Reported by Mai Xuan - Translated by Nguyen Trang