As co-host of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Digital World 2021, Vietnam has marked 50 years of ITU Telecom events and aims for inclusive tech-driven prosperity.

Previously known as ITU Telecom World, the event changed its name to ITU Digital World under the initiative of the Vietnamese Minister of Information and Communications. 

An ITU press release on October 12 quoted Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh as saying that Vietnam seeks to stimulate trade, build skills, and strengthen Southeast Asian economies in line with sustainable development through digital transformation.

ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao asserted the need for public-private cooperation to extend digital benefits worldwide. He urged governments and industry everywhere to ensure connectivity for the estimated 3.7 billion people who still lack it.

“Over the last half-century, ITU Telecom events have supported marvelous innovation," Zhao recalled. “They have provided a window into an industry that has been at the heart of life-changing advances in ICT, from the advent of the Internet to the powerful rise of wireless networks and emerging technologies like 5G, artificial intelligence, and others."

Vietnam's national digital transformation plan aims to harness private domestic entrepreneurship in tandem with efficient e-government. Hosting Telecom parallels the country's ambitions for rapid, inclusive digital transformation that can illuminate viable socio-economic development options for the whole ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“From now until December, we invite public and private sector leaders to share experiences and expectations in the virtual sessions provided by this latest event in the 50-year-old Telecom series, ITU Digital World 2021," stated Zhao.

This year, it is expected to draw about 20,000 visitors, 50 ICT ministers and leaders of major ICT firms in the world./.