Under the agreement signed between Chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee Phan Van Mai and Professor Klaus Schwab, Chairman of the World Economic Forum, the C4IR in HCMC is expected to be put into operation in June and will focus on cooperation, research, policy proposal, technology application and transfer, and mobilization of resources for the areas that the country and the southern economic hub are interested in, such as green growth, smart city, artificial intelligence (Al).
The center will be placed in the HCMC Hi-Tech Park and is regarded as one of the city’s important economic development projects, playing the role of a driving force to promote the city’s development in the coming time.
According to Chairman of HCMC People's Committee Phan Van Mai, the establishment of the C4IR has great significance, not only for the city's important development goals but also for the country's priorities. Besides, HCMC can participate in global initiatives of the World Economic Forum to establish a comprehensive ecosystem to boost new growth driving forces and attract investment as well as strengthen national competitiveness. The center will become a reliable and effective address to promote cooperation between experts, researchers, and the Vietnamese and international business communities.
Jeremy Jurgens, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum said that the establishment of C4IR in the city is an important milestone in the partnership between the World Economic Forum and Vietnam. The forum can support Vietnam in reaching goals for innovation, creativity, and growth through strengthening international cooperation and connecting with many stakeholders.
The C4IR in the city will become a foundation to help HCMC in particular and Vietnam, in general, to form and develop Fourth Industrial Revolution strategies at both local and national levels.
It is the second center to be established in Southeast Asia after C4IR in Malaysia launched in 2023 and is expected to become a center of expertise for policy co-building and piloting policies on constructing the future, creating conditions for technological development and application in the region and the world.
The C4IR is a collaborative platform for stakeholders, connecting the public and private sectors to maximize the technological benefits to society, minimize risks, and improve and strengthen the implementation of emerging technologies. The World Economic Forum launched the first C4IR in San Francisco in 2017, followed by C4IRs in Japan and India.
The C4IR network now includes the hubs in Austin (Center for Trustworthy Technology), Azerbaijan, Brazil, Colombia, Detroit (US Center for Advanced Manufacturing), Germany (Global Government Technology Center in Berlin), Israel, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Norway (the Ocean Data Foundation), Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Telangana, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
The 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum 2024 takes place at Davos-Klosters, Switzerland from January 15-19.
