[Collaboration Days 2026] HCMC C4IR leader delivers opening remarks at the "Roundtable Promoting R&D and Commercialization of Research Outcomes in Strategic Technology Sectors"

Delivering the opening remarks, Mr. Le Truong Duy, Director of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC C4IR), emphasized the vital role of knowledge and innovation in the new global context. He affirmed that a nation's competitive advantage no longer depends on natural resources or low-cost labor, but is rather determined by its capacity to master core technologies and its ability to transform research results into high-value products and services.

Currently, although many countries have invested heavily in research centers and laboratories, the success of an ecosystem is not measured solely by the number of scientific publications or patents. According to him, the real metric lies in the ability to bring those results to the market to generate socio-economic impacts. He also pointed out that the bottleneck between the laboratory and the market is preventing many valuable research projects from being commercialized due to a lack of connection mechanisms or appropriate testing environments.

“Technology commercialization is no longer just a story of scientists or businesses, but a process that requires the simultaneous participation of multiple stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem. Universities and research institutes generate new knowledge and technology; businesses play the role of identifying market demands, refining products, and scaling up; investors provide resources for technology development stages; while regulatory bodies establish a favorable institutional environment for innovation and controlled risk-taking,” he shared.

Closing his remarks, Mr. Le Truong Duy affirmed that the roundtable was organized with two primary objectives: first, to create an open dialogue space among stakeholders and international partners to share experiences, practical lessons, and effective collaboration models; second, to accelerate the actual process of bringing strategic technologies from research to practical application and commercialization. The program is expected to go beyond just sharing experiences, opening up tangible cooperation channels and opportunities between Ho Chi Minh City and China in the coming time, thereby contributing to the formation of concrete initiatives, projects, and cooperation programs in strategic technology sectors.

Chương trình được kỳ vọng không chỉ dừng lại ở việc chia sẻ kinh nghiệm mà còn mở ra các kênh và cơ hội hợp tác thiết thực giữa Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh và Trung Quốc trong thời gian tới, góp phần hình thành những sáng kiến, dự án và chương trình hợp tác cụ thể trong lĩnh vực công nghệ chiến lược.

This content is part of the "Collaboration Days" program on the sidelines of the 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions (AMNC 2026) of the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Dalian, China. The program is chaired by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and organized by HCMC C4IR to promote international cooperation, and connect investment, technology, smart manufacturing, and global financial flows.