Quoted from the speech delivered by his excellency Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong,  President of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at the 39th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO 2008) Opening Ceremony:

“...This is a great honour for Vietnam to be the host country, which demonstrates the trust of the international physics community and friends in our country. I strongly believe that through the great efforts of the host country, Ministry of Education and Training, and the Organizing Committee, our dear contestants will enjoy the best and most fair conditions to compete in this summit contest.  They bring honour to their countries, and at the same time, will learn from each other while contributing to the continuous development of physics throughout the world.
I would like to wish international guests and contestants, interesting days ahead and good memories of Vietnam!  I wish best results to the contestants, but most importantly, I hope all of us will use this precious opportunity to build stronger international friendship and solidarity, for a better world and a brighter future!  Wish success to the Olympiad!...”

“...Every July since 1967, the international physic community turns their attention to one of the most interesting physics events of the year - that is the International Physics Olympiad for high school students with excellent talents in physics. Only 5 countries attended the first Olympiad in Warsaw (Poland), but this year's Olympiad sees the participation of 82 countries and territories from all continents worldwide. This shows that the Olympiad is attracting greater attention from the physics community and young talented physics students around the world. This is exceptionally meaningful considering the current trend in many countries of young people hesitant to study basic sciences. This hesitancy leads to a lack of qualified human resource in the field, and negatively impacts the long-term and sustainable development of science and economies.  Therefore, the annual Physics Olympiad in general, and this Olympiad in particular, will help to encourage the study and practical application of physics on a global scale.

In the strategy of human development, the Vietnamese government always attaches the utmost importance to improving the intellectual standard of its people as well as the fostering of gifted people. In the fields of science, including physics, the Government endeavors to discover young talented students early, as well as create the best conditions for them to develop their innate abilities...”