Vietnam to go digital or lose out: Deputy PM Dam

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam highlighted the role of digital transformation when he met with leaders from the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) and the Vietnam Computer Association, as well as members of the IT community, at a recent seminar.

“With no digital transformation, Vietnam will lose in international competition,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.

Experts at the seminar said the COVID-19 pandemic was one of the factors to accelerate the digital process in the country as it has shown how the Government and businesses could apply IT effectively to fight the disease. 

Dam said since the very beginning of the pandemic, Vietnam has planned to connect 20 hospitals so patients could receive consultations from leading doctors.

Dam said: “Vietnam considers digital transformation a national strategic programme.”

Dam told MIC and the association to identify areas that need work, mentioning the first field of health, followed by education, banking and finance, agriculture, transport, as well as energy and environment.

Also attending the seminar, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said: "I have a strong belief that digital transformation will positively contribute to changing the country's rankings and help Vietnam develop.”

Again, Hung mentioned the pandemic as a huge opportunity for the IT industry.

Hung said local apps designed to fight the pandemic were better than those of other countries.

“We have many IT businesses, many of which are coding for foreign customers. If there is a market, they will return to develop their own products in Vietnam,” he said.

With nearly 100 million people, Hung said: “Vietnam has a large potential to develop its own platforms.”

He added: “Vietnam could be a place for IT businesses to develop and expand to the world,” adding that MIC was launching new digital conversion platforms every week. It will also launch a competition to find solutions for digital transformation in the country.

Seeing the strengths of Vietnam in its dynamic economy and hardworking people, the deputy PM also told the seminar to clarify the weaknesses, which he said were a lack of discipline and cooperation.

According to the computer association, on June 3, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved the National Digital Transformation Programme. However, many experts believed that the process will face difficulties and challenges due to the intellectual difference between regions of Vietnam, adding it was more of a challenge to undertake the digital conversion process in rural and mountainous areas. 

At the same time, they mentioned local infrastructure, platforms and environment for digital transformation were not yet ready, while the number of digital savvy businesses was still low.

To end the seminar, the Deputy PM noted: "Digital transformation is a long journey that requires us to identify each step in a patient and logical way."

According to the MIC's leaders, the approved national digital transformation programme will build a digital Government, digital economy and digital society for Vietnam in the future./.