Launching the Central Highlands Cluster Innovation Forum
On June 10, the five provinces of Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai, Kon Tum and Lam Dong jointly launched the Regional Cluster Innovation Forum with the goal of developing the agri-food industry in the Central Highlands.
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Representatives of the People's Committees of 5 Central Highlands provinces and CRISO signed a cooperation agreement to establish the Central Highlands Innovation Forum under the witness of Australian Deputy Ambassador Mark Tattersall and Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung. Photo: Aus4Innovation
This forum is one of the initiatives of the Aus4Innovation partnership program for the period of 2018-2022 between the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and the Vietnam Ministry of Science and Technology.
Five provinces have signed cooperation agreements with the Aus4Innovation program, creating the basis for the Forum to officially operate in the Central Highlands. Aus4Innovation has committed to providing initial funding for the Forum during its first year of operation.
Under the agreement, for 3 years, the participating parties will cooperate to access information and potential innovation achievements inside and outside the network; promoting new ideas, jointly investing in research cooperation projects to increase competitive advantages for agricultural exports and agricultural product processing in the region; promote the commercialization of scientific research results, technology development and transfer, and create new scientific and technological products, solutions and services for the market.
The Central Highlands region is a major agricultural center, known for many crops with high market value and export value, such as pepper, coffee and fruit, but production of agricultural products and food has not yet been established its full potential. With about 2 million hectares of agricultural land, managers realize more needs to be done to improve people's incomes and livelihoods while maintaining sustainable economic benefits for businesses.
The leaders of the 5 provinces all affirmed that they need to promote the connection and interaction between the stakeholders, so the Forum is a very good opportunity for everyone to learn, exchange information and integrate into the plans related work to make the most of technical support and funding from Australia and other available resources.
Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung said that innovation and the application of advanced technologies have been identified by the Vietnamese Government as the key to increasing resilience and accelerating growth recovery rate of the economy. Therefore, it is hoped that the Central Highlands provinces can make good use of the support from the Australian Government and set an example of a regional forum where creative ideas and useful solutions to challenges are generated, while improving the productivity and value of agricultural products.
Australia is cooperating with the Central Highlands on a wide range of activities, from transport and public administration to agriculture and food.
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