The government of Vietnam values the cooperation and engagement of private enterprises in building policies and strategies for socio-economic development in general and information technology (IT) industry in particular, said a senior government official.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Minh Hong delivered the statement at a conference themed “Public – private partnership in IT development” in Hanoi on June 18.

The conference was jointly held by the Vietnam Software Association (VINASA) and the Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation (ASOCIO) as part of the latter’s plenary session in 2010 in Vietnam from June 17-20.

Deputy Minister Hong said Vietnam wishes to learn IT development experiences of ASOCIO member economies.

Hong said over the recent past, Vietnam’s IT industry grew by leaps and bounds at more than 20 percent in 2009 despite impacts of the world economic crisis, gaining over 6.26 billion USD or 7 percent of the GDP.

The domestic software industry expanded by 35-40 percent with the total revenues of 880 million USD while the digital content industry grew by 50 percent, reaping nearly 700 million USD.

According to the latest study of A.T.Kearney, a leading consultant company from the US , Vietnam is one of the top ten countries in terms of software outsourcing.

ASOCIO President Looi Kien Leong said the conference is an opportunity for the 21 ASOCIO members to increase cooperation and experience exchanges.

IT representatives of India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia and Australia shared their experiences in developing and implementing IT development policies and particularly underlined the importance of promoting the cooperation between state and private enterprises in the area.