Vietnamese and Israeli experts, businesses, officials and researchers discussed policies on innovation for Viet Nam during a conference in Ha Noi on Wednesday.
Opening the event, Dr Nguyen Dinh Cung, head of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), said the institute was drafting a national strategy on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, adding that international experience gained after the event would be useful for the project.
Israeli Ambassador Nadav Eshcar said Viet Nam and Israel had established a strong partnership over the decades, and similarities between the countries and people would enable them to share experience and learn from each other.
Israel was now a start-up country, rising from a land of sand and deserts with poor natural resources to become a leading nation in innovation, he said.
He said Israel’s innovation had been promoted in areas of technology, including medical technology, automation, mechanics, agricultural technology, unmanned aerial vehicles, aerospace and many other sectors.
The ambassador expressed his hope that experience from Israel would be useful for Viet Nam, helping the country make breakthrough progress in integration.
Israeli expert Prof Avishay Braverman said the foundation of Israel’s high technology was agriculture. So far, water and agricultural technology from Israel had made global coverage with application in 50 per cent of low-pressure watering systems and 350 desalination plants in 40 countries.
Israel was the world's leading country in collecting, treating and recycling wastewater, he noted.
Braverman stressed the need to prepare training facilities as well as investment in development.
The Government, enterprises and community should work together to research and apply high technology in daily life, he said, highlighting the role of the Government in encouraging innovation and creating favourable policies in the field.
Along with a creative environment, it was necessary to invest in research and human resources development, said Braverman.
He also shared experience in innovation and building policies for innovation as well as Israel’s experience and opportunities for developing countries like Viet Nam, along with what the Government and businesses should do to take advantage of these chances. — VNS