Vietnam–Korea AI Forum in Hanoi Sets Three Cooperation Tracks as NIPA Plans a 2027 Innovation Centre

Vietnam and South Korea used a forum in Hanoi on October 29 to set out where they want to work together on artificial intelligence, Báo Chính phủ, the government’s news portal, reported. The Vietnam–Korea AI and Digital Technology Forum 2026 was held as part of Vietnam International Digital Week and organised by Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT, its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency, known as NIPA, together with Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Trần Trung Tính proposed three directions for cooperation. The first is joint research and development of foundation models and large language models. The second covers infrastructure, including data, computing power, testing environments and semiconductors. The third is training a workforce that can build and run AI systems. He framed the goal as helping Vietnam master core technology rather than simply import it.

Kim Deuk-jung, executive vice president of NIPA, praised the national AI strategy Vietnam announced in August and recalled that NIPA signed a memorandum of understanding in April with the ministry’s Authority of Information Technology Industry. He said NIPA plans to open a Korea AI Innovation Center in Vietnam in 2027. Korean Ambassador Lee Miyon also addressed the forum.

What it means in practice

A Korean innovation centre would give Vietnamese start-ups and engineers a more permanent link to Korean partners, funding and testbeds. Ties have been building at the local level too, as when Da Nang signed Korea MoUs on AI ecosystems and semiconductors, and in industry, where TPGroup and Korea’s Pebble Square planned a $7 million push on AI chips and edge AI.

The three tracks also line up with the government’s own goals. Vietnam’s updated 2030 strategy aims for ASEAN AI hub status, and foundation models, compute and skills are the areas where it most needs outside partners. Korea, for its part, is looking for growth markets for its AI firms and a base in Southeast Asia.

What to watch next is whether the three directions turn into funded joint projects, where the Korea AI Innovation Center will be located and what it will offer, and whether Korean companies commit to building data or computing capacity in Vietnam.