Hanoi (VNA) – Member of the Party Central Committee and Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung on January 21 delivered a presentation at the 14th National Party Congress, focusing on breakthrough solutions to make science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation the core drivers of a new, fast and sustainable growth model in the era of national rise driven by knowledge and digital technology.
Hung, who is also Secretary of the Party Committee of the ministry, emphasised that in moving from middle-income to high-income status, Vietnam must rely on science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation. These three drivers have been expanded and redefined by the Party under a new approach, creating broader development space and unlocking new resources for growth. With this trio, Vietnam has the potential to achieve double-digit growth.
According to the minister, the Politburo’s Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW identifies science and technology, innovation, and national digital transformation as the foremost breakthroughs and key drivers for rapidly developing modern productive forces, improving production relations, innovating national governance, and strengthening national self-reliance and autonomy.
Acknowledging that each country has its own cultural context and development model, Vietnam’s approach places science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation under the Party’s comprehensive leadership, turns institutions into a competitive advantage, and focuses on improving national competitiveness, economic growth, and quality of life. Development is pursued in a balanced ecosystem encompassing institutions, infrastructure, human resources, the State, researchers, and enterprises, with a shift from input-based to output-based management, Hung stated.
Priorities include addressing major national challenges such as double-digit growth, productivity, quality, and national governance, while ensuring mastery of core and strategic technologies as an element of national sovereignty. Innovation is encouraged across society, fostering a culture that tolerates failure and promotes exploration, while intellectual property is treated as a strategic asset and a source of competitive advantage.
To make the trio truly central to growth, the Ministry of Science and Technology is developing methods to measure their contribution to GDP at both national and local levels, viewing this as a key step to improve efficiency and prevent wastefulness. In the period to 2031, priorities should be digital transformation, followed by innovation and science and technology.
With the Party’s leadership, the strategic vision of Party General Secretary To Lam, and the strong aspiration of the Vietnamese people, science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation are expected to drive Vietnam beyond the middle-income trap toward high-income, developed status, said the minister./.
