Vietnam’s Breakthroughs in Digital Transformation Viewed A Key Task

Under proper guidance of the Central Party and cooperation between the Central Government and the local authorities, Vietnam has launched an unprecedented campaign on digital transformation nationwide, achieving great results so far with expectations for more meaningful breakthroughs in the upcoming time.

Photo: VOV

The National Digital Transformation Day on October 10 shows the great attention of both the national and local leaders to such an important information technology aspect. It is a signal of the responsibility of state management units as well as the Vietnamese IT business community.

The digital transformation process includes the establishment of a digital government, economy, and society with various smart cities. It is considered the only choice during the 2021-2025 period for breakthroughs in socio-economic development and improvements in living standards of citizens, plus a favorable environment for competitiveness enhancement among businesses, local areas, and the whole nation in general.

Giant telecoms corporations such as Viettel, VNPT, and FPT are playing the role of boosting collaboration in the communities of innovative startups as well as small and medium-sized enterprises to offer more digital services for the state, businesses, and citizen, in hope of creating a new Vietnam via successes in the national digital transformation process, reported the sggpnews.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the event. Photo: VOV

Those in attendance also included Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung, leaders of departments, ministries, and central agencies, and representatives of a number of provinces and centrally-run cities. This is along with numerous representatives of socio-political and international organisations, associations embassies, international organisations in Vietnam, alongside representatives of various businesses and universities and academies.

Speaking at the ceremony, PM Chinh acknowledged, praised, and highly appreciated the efforts, determination, and achievements of localities, business communities and people, all of which have made an important contribution to the national digital transformation process.

The Vietnamese Party and State always places great importance and views digital transformation as one of the key tasks in the process of national industrialisation and modernisation. The document of the 13th National Party Congress touch upon digital transformation, the digital economy, and digital society as part of strategic goals, perspectives, and breakthroughs, the Government chief went on to say.

During the ceremony, the PM sent the Government’s message on promoting national digital transformation moving forward, emphasising the need to focus on fine-tuning mechanisms and policies to effectively implement the Digital Transformation Strategy. This should be done by synchronously developing both institutions, digital infrastructure, digital platforms, and digital human resources, while implementing solutions aimed at improving the country’s ranking in terms of e-government, innovation, and global competency according to the criteria of international organisations, said the VOV.

It is therefore imperative to synchronously implement solutions which can develop and improve the overall quality of digital human resources in association with innovation and application of science and technology. The focus should be on training digital skills associated with the market and meet the requirements of the national digital transformation, emphasised the PM.

Cashless payment via digital applications is popular in Dai Tu Shopping Center in Thai Nguyen Province. (Photo: SGGP)

The aims of the national digital transformation process are to improve the living standards of all residents, the citizen satisfaction index, while boosting the growth of GRDP and the administrative reform, the innovation capacity of all local areas. However, the ultimate goal is to transform the mind and habits of people, which is the most challenging task. They have to understand the benefit of digital technologies to their life and willingly carry out this process.

For instance, farmers and businesses have wholeheartedly participate in digital transformation in agriculture, clearly seeing the high profit it can deliver. The situation is the same in the fields of education, traffic, healthcare. Understanding the convenience of digital transformation, citizens find it easier to change their habits of performing daily activities accordingly. This, in turn, will become the driving force for the success of the national digital transformation.

Technologies should answer the demands of the real life and must exist in daily activities of the public, not merely plans in conferences or topics of discussions among technicians. In fact, during the fourth outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, digital products have appeared out of innovation to address problems at that time such as distance diagnosis for Covid-19 patients. They have been highly appreciated by the community.

Resolution No. 52 of the Politburo emphasises the urgent necessity of accelerating the digital transformation process. The Government’s National Digital Transformation Program to 2025, with a vision towards 2030, is being implemented in the direction of digital transformation in a comprehensive manner with the participation of the people, business community, and state administrative agencies.

Recent times has seen the Vietnamese national digital transformation process achieve positive results, with awareness and actions on digital transformation seeing many changes.

Greater attention has been given to developing strategies, fine-tuning institutions, mechanisms, and policies, while digital infrastructure is receiving increased investment, thereby accelerating many digital platforms.

The database serves to create the foundation for the digital government. Furthermore, communication is promoted and online public services are deployed more effectively and extensively.

Information security and safety continue to be the focus, while financial and human resources for digital transformation are enhanced, meaning the contribution of the digital economy to GDP is increasing.

“With the determination and initiative and creativity of the whole political system, business community and people over the past time, we believe that the national digital transformation will have positive changes, contributing to enhancing the renewal of the growth model, successfully fulfilling socio-economic development goals and tasks in 2022 and the five-year plan from 2021 to 2025.

This will help build an independent, self-sufficient economy associated with deep and effective international integration for a strong and prosperous Vietnam with the people enjoying a prosperous and happy life,” PM Chinh stated.

At the ceremony, the Organizing Committee also presented some prizes of the National Digital Transformation Solution Search Competition.