It is critical for Vietnam to promote coordination among related parties to accelerate digital transformation, according to Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung.

It is critical for Vietnam to promote coordination among related parties to accelerate digital transformation, according to Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung.

Digital economy is playing an increasingly important role in driving economic growth, Hung said, adding that the key for digital transformation in 2024 is “change of approach.”

Instead of calling on fields to implement digital transformation, the ministry will commission teams, including network operations and digital technology companies, to work on digital transformation application for each field, Hung said.

The mission of the digital technology industry is to use digital technology to make Vietnam develop and become a high-income country by 2045. To do so, it is necessary to master technology and encourage innovation, design and manufacturing in Vietnam.

“We are in the early stage of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. We need to focus on AI development,” Hung said.

“In this era of digital transformation, no one will be the fastest. The focus is collaboration. Whoever cooperates well will win.”

Vietnam has been among the leading countries in the field of digital transformation and innovation in the region.

The World Intellectual Property Organisation ranked Vietnam 46th in the innovation index in 2023, up two grades compared to 2022.

According to Pham Hong Quat, Director of the ministry’s National Agency for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialisation Development, organisations supporting innovation start-ups in both the public and private sectors are growing rapidly in both number and operational capacity.

There is large potential for digital transformation, especially in food-tech, healthcare, logistics, green growth and carbon credit, he said.

“Vietnam has opportunities in international integration, digital transformation, green growth, circular economy and sustainable development goals. But there are also challenges,” Quat said.

In late December, the Prime Minister approved the project on improving State management and law enforcement capacity on digital transformation to 2025, with a vision to 2030, stressing that human resource, institution and technology are three decisive factors for the success of digital transformation.

According to Hung, solutions to address human resources challenges can be varied year to year.

In 2024, the focus will be on building virtual assistants to support officials and civil servants, especially for positions working a lot with regulations and data, so that they will have time for creativity, Hung said.

Application of technology will help reduce workload by three times, Hung stressed.

To promote inclusive digital transformation, the ministry has launched Lang So (Digital Village) portal with an aim to help people understand how digital technology is applied to aspects of daily life and equip them with digital skills to change the way they live, work and do business, and to become a part of the digital economy.

With nearly 11,000 commune level administrative units, 29,000 cooperatives and five million business households, every individual, every village, every commune and every person should become an inspirational story in digital transformation, according to the ministry.

Vietnam’s digital economy is expected to gain robust growth and reach an estimated 45 billion USD by 2025, driven by e-commerce and online travel, according to a joint report by Alphabet, Temasek Holdings, and Bain & Company in November.

The report said Vietnam remains the fastest growing digital economy in Southeast Asia for the second year in a row and is expected to hold this position until 2025./.