Phan Van Mai, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, signed a collaboration agreement with the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday to establish the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) in the city.

The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and WEF executive chairman Klaus Schwab.

The Ho Chi Minh City C4IR, the second of its kind in Southeast Asia after the Malaysian C4IR established last year, is expected to become a platform for the southern city, and Vietnam in general, to develop strategies for the fourth industrial revolution.

Slated to begin operation in June this year, the C4IR in Ho Chi Minh City will serve as a hub for policy research and recommendations, technology application and transfer, and resource mobilization in the fields of green growth, smart cities, and AI.

It will be located at the Saigon Hi-Tech Park in Thu Duc City, an administrative district under Ho Chi Minh City.

The center is considered one of the main drivers for the Vietnamese city’s economic growth in the years ahead.

Chairman Mai attached importance to the establishment of this center, saying that it is among the country’s top priorities and would bolster collaboration among experts, researchers, Vietnamese businesses, and their international partners.

Through the center, the city could engage in global initiatives launched by the WEF and then attract more investors and enhance the country’s competitiveness.

WEF managing director Jeremy Jurgens said setting up the Ho Chi Minh City C4IR would mark an important milestone in the Vietnam-WEF partnership.

The WEF will support the Southeast Asian country in fulfilling the latter’s goal of achieving innovation and robust growth by boosting international cooperation with many other parties, Jurgens said.

C4IR is a global platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue and cooperation in both private and public sectors to harness the full potential of technology, minimize risks, and facilitate the application of emerging technologies.

The WEF launched its first C4IR in San Francisco in 2017, followed by facilities in Japan, India, and other nations.

The C4IR network includes the Center for Trustworthy Technology in Austin, Texas; the U.S. Centers for Advanced Manufacturing in Azerbaijan, Brazil, Colombia, Detroit; the Global Government Technology Center in Germany; the HUB Ocean in Israel, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and Norway; and C4IR units in Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa, Telangana, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.

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