National forum talks building of digital economy, digital society
The first national forum on the development of digital economy and digital society took place in the northern province of Nam Dinh on September 14, discussing orientations and trends to help realise the country’s relevant targets for 2030 and beyond.
In his opening speech, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said that building a digital economy and digital society was identified as a strategic focus of Vietnam in the time ahead.
Vietnam expects that by 2025, the digital economy will make up 20% of the gross domestic product (GDP), the rate of adults using smartphones reach 80%, and the rate of people aged 15 and over having payment accounts at banks or other licensed institutions increase to 80%. The respective targets for 2030 are 30%, 95%, and over 95%.
Implementing the national strategy for digital economy and digital society development, the country has fulfilled two of the 17 targets and 20 of the 114 tasks. The share of the digital economy in GDP has expanded continually, from 11.91% in 2021 to 14.29% in 2022 and nearly 15% in the first half of 2023, he reported.
Tran Tuan Anh, Politburo member and Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Economic Affairs, said the targets set in the Government’s national strategy for digital economy and digital society development by 2025, with orientations to 2030, are big challenges amid numerous difficulties facing the digital transformation process nationwide.
The strategy outlined a vision that building a digital economy is to help enrich people so that Vietnam can surpass the lower-middle-income status by 2025, obtain the upper-middle-income status by 2030, and become a high-income country by 2045.
Meanwhile, a digital society will help people secure more happiness, take part in social activities more comprehensively, and have more favourable conditions to benefit from social security policies, thus contributing to efforts to turn Vietnam into a safe, humane, and inclusive digital country, Anh added.
At the forum, aside from a high-level session, three workshops were also held to discuss the development of innovation into an impetus for the digital economy, the development of the digital technology industry into a stepping stone for building inclusive and comprehensive digital economy and digital society, and the role of data and artificial intelligence in digital economy and digital society development.
The forum also included an exhibition where over 20 IT solution suppliers showcased technological applications for digital economy development such as digital payment, e-wallet, near field communication (NFC), digital signature, blockchain, e-commerce, digital ecosystem, and information safety solutions.
