Hanoi, July 7 -- Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung has called on the Ministry of Science and Technology's Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VINATOM) to accelerate nuclear development and application, making nuclear science a key driving force of national development.

Speaking at VINATOM's 50th anniversary ceremony in Hanoi on July 7, Dung said the half-century journey has affirmed the Party and State's strategic vision of establishing the institute immediately after national reunification. Generations of scientists and officials overcame steep hurdles to build a nuclear science hub that has delivered for the economy and earned international credibility.

The 1984 restoration, capacity upgrade and operation of the Da Lat nuclear reactor, ...