Science, technology and innovation - a pillar to Vietnam and Brazil partnership
With 100 million inhabitants and robust economic growth, Vietnam has objectives and challenges similar to those of Brazil.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended a discussion with Brazilian businesses during his visit to Brazil in September 2023. (Photo: CT) |
Countries from the Global South, committed to peace, multilateralism, sustainable development and the fight against hunger, Brazil and Vietnam celebrate 35 years of diplomatic relations in 2024 with the relaunch of bilateral cooperation. The first step was taken with the visit of the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Pham Minh Chinh, to Brazil in September this year.
Vietnam's economic and social advances in the last decade are impressive. With 100 million inhabitants and robust economic growth, the country has objectives and challenges similar to those of Brazil, which contributes to joint action on topics of interest on the international scene.
| Brazilian Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Luciana Santos will visit Vietnam from November 27-30. On this occasion, Minister Luciana Santos will meet withVietnamese leaders and go on a field trip to some Vietnamese factories to explore cooperation opportunities. |
The geopolitical situation marked by crises of different natures, such as regional conflicts, extreme weather events, health emergencies and food insecurity, has required the deepening of international cooperation. It is in this complex context that Brazil acts pragmatically to consolidate traditional relationships and seek new partnerships.
President Lula's Government is interested that one of the pillars of the Brazil-Vietnam relationship be based on science, technology and innovation, where we see extraordinary potential. In this area, we have the prospect of advancing joint initiatives in digital transformation, semiconductors, quantum technologies, Artificial Intelligence, renewable energy and innovative environments, with a focus on startups.
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| Brazil’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Luciana Santos. (Source: camara.leg.br) |
Brazil has implemented a set of actions to master the scientific, technological and productive knowledge. Few countries in the world have specific policies to favor strategic sectors such as semiconductors. To this end, our government is investing in the resumption of the National Center for Advanced Electronic Technology S.A-Ceitec, a public development and manufacturing of chips, with the goal of overcoming production and technological gaps.
In this sense, cooperation with Vietnam constitutes an opportunity for both countries to seek a proud and sovereign participation in the global semiconductor and advanced component chains.
This is the objective of my visit to Vietnam, to participate in meetings with government authorities, academic and research institutions and technology parks. We want to use international cooperation and science and innovation to address major national and global challenges and promote the transfer of high technology to other developing countries. We understand that we will only achieve peace and prosperity if we are able to reduce global asymmetries in access to science, technology and innovation, so that the benefits can be felt by all humanity.
| According to an article posted on the website reporteasia.com, over the past 34 years, relations between Vietnam and Brazil have continuously been developing, with enhanced political trust and mutual understanding. Vietnam is Brazil's leading trading partner in Southeast Asia while Brazil is the largest trading partner of Vietnam in Latin America. Despite challenges such as the global situation or the COVID-19 pandemic, the bilateral trade has been constantly increasing. The total value of bilateral trade reached a record of 6.78 billion USD last year. Moreover, Vietnam and Brazil have maintained close coordination in international organisations and multilateral forums, especially in the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation. Vietnam fully supported Brazil's candidacy to become a member of the UN Security Council and Brazil backed Vietnam's non-permanent membership in this agency in the 2020-2021 term. |
| The joint communiqué on Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Brazil (September 2023) emphasized: H.E. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and H.E. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva held discussions on important areas of Brazil-Vietnam relations. They reaffirmed that Brazil and Vietnam share common values of peace, cooperation, and the goal of sustainable development for their respective societies, which underpin their presence in the world and engagement in international affairs. They concurred that Brazil and Vietnam have built a robust relationship founded on friendship and mutual respect and expressed their satisfaction at the progress achieved along 35 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Leaders agreed on the importance of reconciling economic growth, social development, and environment protection, which encompasses issues such as energy security and food and nutritional security. |
