World Bank (WB) Division Director for Viet Nam, Cambodia and Lao PDR Mariam J. Sherman - Photo: VGP/Quang Thuong

The WB official highlighted the above information while addressing the forum on promoting innovation and developing strategic technology sectors which took place in Ha Noi on October 2.

Sherman said, landmark reforms, particularly Resolution No. 57, have shown the country's commitment and determination to fostering the development of science, technology and innovation.

Viet Nam has real advantages, a young, talented workforce, macroeconomic stability, a strategic location in Asia's growth corridor and a proven ability to learn and adapt.

She proposed a simple "three-plus-one" formula – as detailed in the WB's latest and first-of-a-kind report on talent and innovation for Viet Nam's semiconductor industry.

The formula rests on three core pillars, including skilled workforce and top tech talent, an innovation ecosystem that brings together academia, Vietnamese and FDI firms, and the government, and deepening supply chain linkages between domestic and FDI firms.

According to Sherman, Viet Nam has laid important groundwork. In 2025, it ranks 44th out of 139 economies on the Global Innovation Index-among the fastest climbers for its income level and Ho Chi Minh City is already one of Southeast Asia's most dynamic innovation hubs.

"We are here today, in the Hoa Lac High Tech Park. Imagine it 10 years from now as the center of an innovation cluster for advanced manufacturing-semiconductors, advanced biomedicine, robotics and automation", she told.

The cluster could bring together research institutes, universities, technology and training providers, as well as factories of the future in one ecosystem. From training, R&D, initial prototyping to full-scale production, the complete manufacturing journey would be possible right here, underlined the WB Director.

Such clusters are powerful magnets for talent and ideas. They inspire young people in Viet Nam to pursue careers in science and technology, and they attract more of the Vietnamese diaspora to bring their skills and networks back home.

This journey requires a whole-of-nation effort, in which government, businesses, academia, and international partners each play a vital role. The government sets the vision, creates enabling policies, and provides seed-funding; universities work with industry to train the workforce and conduct R&D; and international partners bring global expertise and financing.

The WB is actively aligning its support to the priorities to help Viet Nam unlock its tremendous high-tech potential, Sherman emphasized./.