Da Nang boosts cooperation with San Francisco, connects with Silicon Valley tech ecosystem

A delegation of Da Nang’s officials recently met with leaders of San Francisco and NVIDIA, as well as chaired a forum to connect tech experts and enterprises in Silicon Valley (the USA).

The delegation was led by Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Deputy Secretary of the Da Nang Party Committee and Chairman of the municipal People's Committee.

During a working session with representatives of the San Francisco city government, the two sides discussed potential areas of cooperation, including science, technology and innovation; education, training and expert exchanges; culture, people-to-people exchanges and tourism; sustainable development; and climate change adaptation.

Chairman of the Da Nang People's Committee Nguyen Manh Hung proposed selecting several priority areas for specific programs and studying the possibility of signing a cooperation agreement between the two city governments.

Ms. Penny Coulter, Director of International Relations at the San Francisco Mayor's Office, agreed to maintain exchanges and strengthen connectivity.

She proposed connecting San Francisco-based AI companies with Da Nang, boosting cooperation between universities, and sharing experience in sustainable development, environmental protection and climate change response.

Also, importance should be attached to studying the possibility of opening a direct air route between Da Nang and San Francisco, she added.

When meeting with NVIDIA, the Da Nang delegation discussed the core capabilities Da Nang needs to become an “AI City”, as well as the possibility of NVIDIA working with Da Nang.

Chairman Nguyen Manh Hung shared Da Nang’s vision of becoming an “AI City”, with the goal of being one of the pioneering AI cities in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

Ms. Shilpa Kolhatkar, the Global Head of NVIDIA's AI Nations, discussed NVIDIA’s AI strategy, the “NVIDIA AI Nations” model, and government partnerships.

She shared her corporation’s experience in developing Sovereign AI capabilities, AI infrastructure, AI Factories, and GPU Computing platforms.

She also outlined AI models and programs NVIDIA has implemented in countries and cities worldwide.

Also on the same day, Chairman Nguyen Manh Hung chaired a innovation and expert networking forum in Silicon Valley.

The event was attended by representatives of the Consulate General of Vietnam in San Francisco, along with technology experts, businesses and investment funds.

Speaking at the event, the city leader shared Da Nang’s ambition to become a strategic innovation and technology hub in Vietnam.

He also emphasized the importance of connecting with experts, businesses, and investors in Silicon Valley to help Da Nang realize its goal of becoming a strategic center for innovation and technology.

Through the forum, Da Nang expressed its desire to expand connections with experts, businesses and investors in Silicon Valley, thereby creating more opportunities for knowledge exchange, technology resource attraction and the implementation of specific cooperation programs in the time ahead.