Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends and delivers a speech at the 2021 Global Trade in Sevices Summit via video (Photo: VNA) The PM said that in the context that countries are suffering impacts of the COVID-19pandemic, climate change and resource depletion, promoting international cooperationin the field of digital technology is the key to helping countries transform theirgrowth models, better exploit resources, promote flows of capital, goods andservices, thereby creating a new driving force for economic growth, and ensuringsustainable, inclusive and comprehensive development.
He emphasised that Vietnam’s potential for digital economicdevelopment is enormous as the country is a dynamic developing economy inASEAN, has a network of 17 Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with over 60 partners,and is a market of nearly 100 million population, most of whom are young andquickly adapting to digital technology.
Vietnam is ready to, together with China and other countries, promote trade inservices and digital economy in particular, contributing to the development ofeach nation and bringing practical benefits to the region and the world atlarge, he said.
In the spirit, the Vietnamese Prime Minister put forward five specificproposals.
Firstly, he said, countries need to take advantage of digital transformation toaccelerate the fulfilment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)2030, which focus on narrowing development gaps and social inequality betweencountries, creating conditions for people in underdeveloped areas to have equalaccess to services provided on digital platforms.
Secondly, he recommended further strengthening the role of internationalcooperation agreements on digital technology so that the digital economydevelops strongly and in the right direction, while at the same time it ensurescyber security and safety, guarantees privacy, fights monopoly and eliminatesinequality in the implementation of tax obligations.
Vietnam is willing to, together with other countries, build an appropriatelegal framework so as to help the digital economy develop strongly, contributeand harmonise the common interests of the entire society, he affirmed.
Thirdly, attention should be paid to cooperation in education and training ofhuman resources in science and technology, thus supporting labourers togradually adapt to digital technology.
Fourthly, he suggested promoting the role of digital technology in tradefacilitation, especially the movement of goods by multimodal transport, facilitatingpeople’s travel, and ensuring the supply chain is not disrupted amid theCOVID-19 pandemic.
Finally, countries need to strengthen cross-border e-commerce on the basis ofequality and mutual benefit, thereby helping promote exports, especially forseasonal agricultural and aquatic products.
The Global Trade in Services Summit 2021 opened in Beijing, China, on September2 as part of the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) 2021.
CIFTIS2021 is the largest of its kind with the participation of more than 700enterprises inside and outside China.
There are 15 related conferences and forums within the fair’s framework. Thisis the first time Vietnamese enterprises have joined the event in both directand online formats./.
VNA
