Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has entered into apartnership with the Republic of Korea (RoK)'s biggest internet company as partof a national strategy that seeks to transform the Southeast Asian country intoa global player in artificial intelligence by the start of the next decade.

Naver Group has teamed with Hanoi University of Scienceand Technology (HUST), one of the country's top institutions, to launchVietnam’s first AI research center in the capital city, Japan-based Nikkei hasreported.

The new facility is to play a major role in the country'sgoal of nurturing its high-tech sector and becoming an AI research anddevelopment leader by 2030.

For Naver, the partnership with Vietnam is part of aninternational network for AI R&D. The Korean search engine leader launchedits Global AI R&D Belt initiative in 2019, looking to connect softwareengineers and facilities in the RoK, Japan, the European Union and Vietnam.

In August, Naver officially signed a cooperationagreement with Vietnam's Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technologyon investment, development and training of AI in the country.

Naver's deal with Vietnam signals the next wave of Koreaninvestment in Vietnam, with a focus on AI. The initial round of investment, ledby Samsung Electronics, turned the country into a base for smartphone assembly.Samsung now operates two huge smartphone factories in the country and produceshalf its global output in Vietnam.

Samsung as a group has invested more than 17.3 billion USDin Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade./.