Vietnam Internet Day 2021 launched in Hanoi

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam speaks at the event. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Internet Day 2021, themed “Recovery and breakthrough in the era of datafication”, was launched in Hanoi on December 15 by the Vietnam Internet Association (VIA) in coordination with relevant agencies.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said the number of internet service providers in Vietnam, now stands at more than 100, is likely to increase in the time ahead.

He called for joint efforts to create an environment and ecosystem where potential of each individual and organisation is utilised to accelerate Vietnam’s digital transformation.  

Internet Day was first held in 2012 when Vietnam had only 30.8 million internet users. The number increased to nearly 70 million as of June 2021, according to VIA President Vu Hoang Lien.

Vietnam's internet economy could reach 220 billion USD in Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) by 2030, ranking second in Southeast Asia after Indonesia, according to the e-Conomy SEA 2021 Report recently published by Temasek, Google and management consulting firm Bain & Company.

Vietnam’s digital transformation is being carried out on the three pillars of digital government, digital economy and digital society.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Pham Duc Long stressed the need to change the mindset of digital transformation, build data culture, develop digital infrastructure, protect basic moral values and ensure cyber security and safety.

Under a draft planning scheme on information and communication infrastructure during the 2021-2030 period, with a vision towards 2050, the Ministry of Information and Communications aims to synchronously develop national data infrastructure, forming a system of international, national, regional and local data centres that are connected with each other, thus turning Vietnam into a regional and international centre for data storage and processing.

The ministry is working on a national data strategy that is expected to be approved, issued and rolled out next year, Long said, urging the business community to join hands in building and developing digital infrastructure, especially data infrastructure.

Within the framework of the event, there were several workshops on datafication, internet infrastructure in Vietnam and data infrastructure, along with an exhibition./.

VNA