The Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, signed the first memorandum of understanding (MoU) on science, technology and innovation (STI) with Vietnam in Pretoria on 2 August 2015. The Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Tran Quoc Khanh signed the MoU on behalf of Vietnam.
The MoU paves the way for a bilateral agreement on cooperation in STI between the two countries.
Prior to the signing ceremony, Minister Pandor met with the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam, Mr Hoang Trung Hai, who is on an official state visit to South Africa to meet with South Africa's Deputy President, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa.
Minister Pandor and Deputy Prime Minister Hai both welcomed the efforts to open up relations on STI between the two countries.
Minister Pandor emphasised that South Africa had identified South-South relations as strategically important.
"As an emerging market economy and a prominent player in the Asia-Pacific region, Vietnam is a strategic partner for South Africa, and plays a significant role in South-South cooperation," the Minister said.
She added that the DST had identified biotechnology, energy, nanotechnology, new materials, social sciences and aquaculture as potential areas of research cooperation. These areas would be explored further when South Africa made a technical visit to Vietnam in November.
Agroprocessing was another area of interest, as it could help to improve socio-economic conditions for disadvantaged communities.
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