The World Bank (WB) will
provide 100 million USD to help Vietnam implement the Fostering
Innovation through Research, Science and Technology (FIRST) project
which was inaugurated on November 7.
The funding is to realise a financial agreement reached by the State Bank of Vietnam and the WB on July 25, 2013.
Addressing the event, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan
praised the WB’s support, saying the project aims to turn knowledge into
goods and technological capacity for businesses.
It is
expected to bring businesses and scientists closer and apply science and
technology to the cause of poverty reduction and economic development,
the minister said.
Victoria Kwakwa, WB Country Director for
Vietnam, affirmed the significance of technological education, research
and innovation to each country’s prosperity, affirming that the WB
stands ready to help Vietnam implement projects in this field.
The FIRST project, to last from 2014 to 2019, has a total investment
of 110 million USD, including 100 million USD from the WB and the
remainder from Vietnam. It includes three components, including
knowledge and policy development, supporting Government research
institutes’ reform and enterprises’ innovation, and project management.
Its long-term objective is to raise the competitiveness and
quality of Vietnam’s economic growth through the acceleration of
scientific research, technological application and innovation
activities.-VNA