The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Information and Communications andthe Ho Chi Minh City Computer Association (HCA) have signed acooperation agreement, intended to boost the development of the city'sinformation and communication technology sector.

Under thedocument inked on February 28, the two sides will cooperate on researchprojects into ICT's human resources, as well as gather opinions on howto develop the sector's human resources between now and 2020.

Theywill hold annual events such as seminar on Vietnam's information andcommunication technologies, and electronics and communication technologyfair, as well as work together to generate business opportunities forlocal firms.

In addition, they will offer short training courses for ICT firms.

ChuTien Dung, HCA chairman, said the association will also begin building adatabase for the industry to help investors draw out better businessstrategies.

Dung said enterprises should focus more ondeveloping applications based on new technology like cloud computing,big data and mobility, to catch up with global technology trends.

Accordingto ICT firms, there is a strong demand for software products based onnew technologies like cloud computing and mobility. However, a shortageof professional human resources, has prevented domestic firms frommeeting big export orders, they said.

They called for closercooperation between the relevant associations, agencies and businesses,to help develop human resources in the ICT industry.

On the sameday, the HCA also signed a cooperation agreement with the VietnamElectronics Industries Association, the Vietnam Information SecurityAssociation, the HCM City Semi-Conductor Industry Association and theHCM City Young Business People Association, with the aim of sharinginformation and supporting one another's future development.-VNA