Digital economy – key driver for Vietnam’s development

Hanoi (VNA) – Although science, technology and innovation are key driving forces for socio-economic development, Vietnam’s national innovation system has just been set up and it does not run in a uniform and effective fashion.

The information was heard at the conference on development of new business models in the industrialisation and modernisation process by 2030 with vision until 2045.

On June 3, 2020, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (now President Nguyen Xuan Phuc) signed off on the national digital transformation programme until 2025 with a vision to 2030, which targets at increasing the digital economy’s contribution to 20 percent of Vietnam’s GDP over the course of the next five years.

The programme aims to concurrently develop a digital government, economy, and society while creating digital technology businesses capable of extending their reach to the world.

The digital economy is hoped to account for 20 percent of the country’s GDP by 2025 and at least 10 percent of each sector.

Vietnam also expects to be among the top 50 countries in the ICT Development Index and the Global Competitiveness Index, and one of the 35 leading countries in the Global Innovation Index (GII).

At the conference, Nguyen Thanh Phong, deputy Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, said digital economy was formed and developed in a vibrant manner, becoming an important part of the economy, adding that in Vietnam, digital technology has been applied in industry, agriculture, services, as well as new cross-border services and business models.

“New business models have created job opportunities, better income, and improve local livelihoods”, he said.

Development of Vietnam’s digital economy is based on available platforms such as Facebook, Google, Youtube, Grab, Gojek, while the number of made-in-Vietnam platforms is still limited with several names like Tiki, Sendo, Thegioididong, FPTShop.

Phong said Vietnamese platforms are less competitive than those of multi-national groups.

Illustrative photo (Photo: VNA)

He also pointed out that the national digitalisation process remains slow due to irrational policies and mechanisms, low-quality human resources, weak infrastructure for digital transformation, and formidable challenges in fighting cybercrimes, among others.  

According to Vu Kiem Van, Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Digital Communications Association, to put forth the digital transformation process, focus should be channeled to organiastion of training for public servants and business owners.

Besides, due attention should be paid to increasing people’s accessibility to essential public services, and ensuring full supply and update of information for all people in different channels, he added.

In recent years, the Government has made efforts to adopt national-level initiatives and policies, creating a premise for facilitating digital transformation, especially in term of human resources in Vietnam. 

Recently, the Government has issued important resolutions and programmes, such as Resolution No 17 dated March 7, 2019 on several key tasks and solutions to develop e-Government in the period of 2019-20 toward to 2025, and Decision No 749 dated June 3, 2020, by the Prime Minister on "National Digital Transformation Programme to 2025, with orientation to 2030.

These policies and programmes have shown the Government's efforts to build a legal corridor, providing solutions and gathering the strength of the whole political system to help Vietnam thrive and go further.

In August 2021, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam signed a decision approving a programme on training and retraining skills to meet the requirements of the fourth Industrial Revolution. This shows the government’s awareness about the important role of skill training for labourers in the new context, where competitiveness among countries in the world is increasing rapidly./.