Representatives from Viet Nam's science and technology ministry and Finland's foreign affairs ministry attended a ceremony to launch phase 2 of the Finland Innovation Partnership Programme. — Photo courtesy of the ministry of science and technology.

HA NOI (Biz Hub) – A total amount of 11 million euros (US$13.5 million) will be channeled into the second phase of the Finland Innovation Partnership Programme in Viet Nam, officials have announced.

Representatives from the Ministry of Science and Technology of Viet Nam and Finland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs said that phase two, to be implemented till February 2018, will receive funds up to 90 per cent from the Finnish government's ODA, and the rest will be contributed by the Vietnamese government.

The project aims to achieve co-operation with leading national and international innovation partners, and co-create appropriate solutions for supporting Viet Nam's innovation system. It will effectively contribute to the implementation of Viet Nam's 2020 economic goals, aiming at increasing exports of innovative products and services.

Taking into account the global competitive context after Viet Nam's accession to the WTO, the development of a national innovation system, with enterprises at its core, has become more urgent than ever, a press release from the science and technology ministry revealed.

Following the successes achieved in phase 1 between 2009 and 2013, which was a pioneering programme on innovation in Viet Nam, the governments of Viet Nam and Finland signed an agreement to develop IPP phase two (IPP2).

Accordingly, IPP2 will take the initial steps in developing a world-class curriculum on innovation and entrepreneurship that will be implemented in Vietnamese universities. Support for innovative projects will focus on new innovative growth companies and consortiums of local actors that are developing the innovation system for the benefit of companies in the four key areas of Ha Noi, Da Nang, HCM City and Can Tho.

Further information is available at www.ipp.vn. — VNS