IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The Deputy PM expressed his gratitude at a ceremony to launch the e-Government website in Ha Noi on September 9.

The two organisations' leaders also discussed issues related to e-government and bilateral collaboration plans for 2010.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Minh Hong said the memorandum aimed to assist the creation of an e-government in Viet Nam.

This was according to Nguyen Thanh Tuyen, an official of the Ministry of Information and Communications, who told a World Information Technology Forum in Ha Noi that IT was a key industry in Viet Nam and training was a key part of its development strategy.

According to new regulations from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, companies need to email their applications to provincial offices for business registration and then be informed of the exact date to receive certificates over phone or via email.

He was addressing 1,500 representatives from more than 70 countries and territories at the World Information Technology Forum-2009 that opened in Ha Noi yesterday.

Việt Nam could enjoy an additional US$162 billion to GDP in the next 20 years if the country succeeds in its digital transformation, said Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Vũ Đại Thắng.

Thắng was referring to research conducted by Australia’s Data 61 at a conference held in Hà Nội on Thursday, saying the digital economy had been rapidly growing and was having an impact on socio-economic life around the world.

The National Electronic Authentication Centre (NEAC) under the Ministry of Information and Communications recently signed a cooperation agreement with the Korea Information Certificate Authority Incorporated (KICA).

Under the agreement, KICA will offer insight into the implementation of legal documents using digital signatures, which can be referenced in the process of researching and developing state management documents on digital signatures.

Vietnam’s public sector ICT infrastructure must develop faster, according to Dr Pham Hong Quang, Director of the Centre for Informatics and Computing at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology.

The central government invested in its ‘112 Programme’, developing ICT infrastructure for administrative processes like office software, databases and sharing information between different agencies, he told FutureGov.“But this 112 programme is not much of a success. The tool is not really bringing benefits - people are still booking on paper”.

Vietnam has been ranked 89th out of 193 countries and territories in the e-government development index (EGDI) in 2016, up ten places compared to two years ago, according to the e-government survey 2016 conducted by the United Nations.

In Southeast Asia, Vietnam’s EGDI is ranked sixth, with Singapore being the highest regionally and ranking fourth globally. Malaysia ranked 60th globally, the Philippines 77th, Brunei 83rd, Indonesia 116th, Laos 148th, Cambodia 158th, Timor Leste 160th, and Myanmar 169th.

Vietnam has made progresses in development of information and communication technology (ICT), especially the creativity of applications that Vietnam is developing, said General Secretary of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Zhao Houlin.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, Zhao said Vietnam's remarkable achievements in ITC development, including its national strategy for digital transformation, make the country an excellent example for the region and developing countries in the world.

Ministries, agencies and localities will continue with digital transformation programmes for the new period in the near future.

The Prime Minister has agreed with the policy of building and developing e-Government, with stepping up administrative reform on the back of advanced technologies while improving openness, transparency and placing the people and businesses at the centre.

Vietnam will need to do more if it wants to become a digital powerhouse as envisioned in the socio-economic development strategy adopted by the Party in February 2021, said a report of the World Bank.

In its latest edition of Taking Stock – the World Bank’s biannual update on Vietnam’s economic performance, the WB stressed that Vietnam needs to ensure the development of a digitally skilled labour force, the emergence of a dynamic and agile local private sector, and good but secure access to information.

Vietnam hopes to develop 100,000 digital technology companies by 2030 which will contribute 20 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

This was a highlight of the draft national strategy for developing Vietnamese digital technology companies which the Ministry of Information and Communications recently made public for comments.

Addressing a conference in Hanoi, he said an efficient e-government in Vietnam would facilitate the administrative reform process and increase transparency within government agencies.

Dr Nguyen Minh Hong, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Information and Communications, highlights that to achieve this, a lot of frameworks and regulations need to be put in place, in areas such as information security and infrastructure building.

“The application of IT has become an integral part of government management, implementation of state policies, bridging the digital gap and improving services to the people,” Dr Hong highlights the importance of government IT at FutureGov Forum Vietnam 2011, held on 14 June in Crowne Plaza West Hanoi Hotel in the Vietnamese capital.

The Government plans to drastically boost the improvement of the business environment, targeting to put Vietnam's business environment and competitiveness into the ASEAN top 4.

The target was announced at a national teleconference between the Government and 63 provinces and cities nationwide in Hanoi on December 28, under the draft Resolution on continuing to carry out the main solutions to improve the business environment and national competitiveness in 2019, towards 2021, as presented at the conference.

The Vietnamese government has approved a national digital transformation program, aiming to have digital economy account for 20 percent of the country’s GDP by 2025 and make 5G mobile network service universal by 2030, local media reported on Thursday.

The country also targets to be among the world’s top 35 countries in Global Innovation Index by 2025, local Tap chi Tai chinh (Finance Magazine) cited the National Digital Transformation Program until 2025 with a Vision to 2030 as reporting.

Vietnamese Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra and the Republic of Korea (RoK)'s Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min agreed to strengthen cooperation in public administration between the two agencies during their working session in Seoul on July 15.

Between now and the year’s end, both sides plan to hold a seminar on government innovation in response to global challenges. The RoK will increase information sharing to assist Vietnam in administrative reform, state governance, and restructuring of local authorities.

Vietnam has suggested fostering a US-Vietnam collaboration for the development of smart cities, aiding its future urban planning milestones. Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi meeting with US Ambassador Marc E. Knapper. Photo: Ministry of Construction

On March 28, Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi highlighted this matter during a meeting with US ambassador to Vietnam Marc E. Knapper.