Engineering sector urged to increase int`l cooperation

industry to increase technological transferring and internationalcooperation in personnel training and scientific research to boost its development.

Truong Tan Sang, who is also standing member of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee's Secretariat, made the request while working with the Vietnam Association of Mechanical Engineering (VAMI) in Hanoi onAugust 20.

He said manufacturing engineering should be the priority in the sector'sdevelopment strategy in order to rise above the "sub-contractor" status.

Shipbuilding, automobile and construction engineering businesses play an important role and take a big responsibility for the country's industrialsector, Sang said.

The party politburo member also said in order to develop the industry, the government should perfect its policies on engineering and further its assistance to the sector, which is the core of the nationalindustrialisation.

A report made by VAMI President, Nguyen Van Thu, showed that the industryhas posted an annual growth of nearly 22 percent since 2001.

Export of engineering products earned more than 2 billion USD last year and the figure is estimated at 900 million USD in the first six months of thisyear.

However, local engineering businesses still mainly involve in subcontractingand command only 40 percent of the local market.