Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh: Digital transformation has 'reached every alley, knocked on every door'

On the morning of April 24, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Chairman of the National Committee on Digital Transformation, chaired the 8th meeting of the Committee, focusing on discussing the digital economy.

Attending the meeting were Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang, Permanent Vice Chairman of the National Committee on Digital Transformation (Committee); Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung, Vice Chairman of the Committee; ministers, leaders of ministries, branches, members of the Committee; leaders of localities, corporations, and large IT enterprises.

With a positive, urgent and serious spirit, delegates spoke and discussed the situation and results of national digital transformation, digital economic development, achievements, shortcomings and limitations, as well as proposed key tasks and solutions for the coming time.

Information technology product exports reach 31 billion USD

Reports and opinions at the meeting unanimously assessed that since the beginning of 2024, the national digital transformation work has achieved a number of positive results.

The first,The work of leadership, direction, management and implementation has been carried out vigorously and synchronously with high determination. The Prime Minister has issued 5 decisions and 2 directives; ministries and branches have issued many guiding documents to promote digital transformation and implement Project 06. Continue to perfect the apparatus of the Committee and steering committees for digital transformation of ministries, branches and localities.

Monday,The work of perfecting institutions, mechanisms and policies to create a framework and favorable conditions for national digital transformation. The Government has issued a decree on high-tech zones; is urgently and actively developing legal documents to guide the Law on Telecommunications, the Law on Electronic Transactions, the Law on Identification, the Law on Credit Institutions, the Land Law, the Housing Law, etc. 56/63 provinces and cities have issued policies to exempt and reduce fees and charges in the use of online public services.

Tuesday,Digital infrastructure and digital platforms continue to be developed. 100% of communes, wards and towns have broadband internet connections, connected to the dedicated data transmission network of state agencies. Over 80% of households use broadband internet fiber optic cables.

The National Data Sharing Integration Platform (NDXP) has connected with 388 systems and databases of 95 agencies and units (on average, about 2.8 million transactions are performed per day).

Many large, modern data centers will be inaugurated and put into operation in 2023-2024 (such as Viettel, VNPT, CMC...); The National Data Center is being actively deployed. The 5G spectrum auction will be completed, and businesses (VNPT and Viettel) will be licensed to operate 5G services.

Wednesday,National and specialized databases are being promoted to be built, connected and shared.

The national population database has connected, shared, authenticated, and cleaned data with 18 ministries, branches, 63 localities, and 4 state-owned enterprises. Over 86 million chip-embedded citizen identification cards have been issued; nearly 54 million accounts have been activated; and more than 1.5 billion information verification requests have been received.

311 more specialized databases have been put into operation (to date, there are 2,398 total specialized databases in operation).

Thursday,Providing online public services to people and businesses has been promoted. To date, there have been nearly 14.6 million accounts and more than 46.2 million applications submitted on the National Public Service Portal; nearly 26.8 million online payment transactions with an amount of more than 12,900 billion VND. Deploying 41/53 essential public services at levels 3 and 4 (an increase of 5 essential public services compared to the end of 2023).

Just the 25 essential public services in Project 06 each year have saved the State and society nearly 3,500 billion VND.

Friday, digital economy and digital society continue to have positive developments. According to the report of the Ministry of Information and Communications, in the first quarter of 2024, IT industry revenue reached nearly 36.3 billion USD, up 17.7% over the same period; IT product exports reached 31 billion USD, up 17%.

There are currently 8.2 million customers using Mobile money, an increase of 2.2 times compared to the same period in 2023; of which more than 5.8 million customers are in rural and mountainous areas.

Currently, 100% of medical examination and treatment facilities have cashless payment services; 77% of adults have bank payment accounts and over 1 million policy beneficiaries have received social security benefits through their accounts.

Digital transformation has "reached every alley, knocked on every door, and checked every person"

In his concluding remarks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh basically agreed with the reports and opinions; assigned the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Government Office to absorb the opinions and complete the draft Conclusion of the meeting to unify the implementation of tasks and solutions in the coming time in a synchronous and effective manner.

On behalf of the Government, the Prime Minister commended the efforts, attempts and achievements of ministries, branches, localities and relevant entities; the strong direction of the Committee members; the consensus, support and active participation of the people and businesses.

"Digital transformation has 'reached every alley, knocked on every door, checked every person'. We must continue to promote digital transformation in all fields, levels, and industries, bringing practical benefits to people and businesses," the Prime Minister emphasized.

Besides the achieved results, the Prime Minister pointed out that digital transformation and digital economic development still have many shortcomings and limitations.

The issuance of the Commission's Action Plan is still slow. There is no effective mechanism to inspect, supervise, track, synthesize and evaluate the implementation of digital transformation at ministries, branches and localities.

"Many leaders of departments, ministries, branches and localities have not considered digital transformation as a key task, have not really paid attention to, directed and prioritized resources for digital transformation. Any ministry or branch whose minister or deputy minister is interested in digital transformation will have different results immediately, typically the Ministry of Public Security, creating motivation and inspiration for other agencies," the Prime Minister said.

The construction and completion of the legal environment, mechanisms and policies are not yet timely. 390/1,086 administrative procedures have not been reduced or simplified according to the Government's resolutions. 7/63 localities have not yet issued the People's Council's Resolution on exemption and reduction of fees and charges in the use of online public services.

Cyber ​​security and information security have not received due attention in many places. Cyber ​​attacks, especially ransomware, have increased sharply recently (nearly 2,400 cyber attacks were recorded in the first quarter of 2024).

The quality of online public services is not high, not really attracting people and businesses. The rate of online processing of records is not high. The rate of providing full public services is still low. In particular, the rate of exploitation and reuse of information and data is very low, the connectivity, sharing and interoperability of data is still poor, causing waste.

Digital infrastructure has not met development needs, there has been no breakthrough; there are still many power and signal gaps (as of March 2024, the whole country still has 1,050 signal-weak villages, of which 177 villages have no electricity). Development of digital social platforms and e-commerce is still limited, affecting the ability to be self-reliant in national digital transformation. The situation of junk SIM cards and non-owner SIM cards has not been completely resolved, increasing the risk of online fraud. Human resources for digital transformation have not met the needs in terms of quantity and quality, and are unevenly distributed.

At previous meetings of the Committee, the Prime Minister and delegates analyzed lessons learned.At this session, the Prime Minister emphasized major lessons.

One is, the participation with high determination of the entire political system, promoting the role of the leader. Grasping the actual situation, having flexible, timely and effective responses; directing and operating synchronously and flexibly, organizing and implementing resolutely, clearly identifying priorities, focus and key points.

Second,Taking people and businesses as the subject and center of national digital transformation; so that people and businesses can enjoy the results brought about by national digital transformation, in the spirit of leaving no one behind; making transparent and increasing the participation of people and businesses.

Third,Build and perfect the legal corridor on national digital transformation, meeting practical requirements, especially on digital economy and digital society.

Fourth,Always maintain discipline and order; promote decentralization and delegation of power associated with resource allocation, strengthen inspection and supervision; resolutely fight corruption, negativity, and group interests; promote policy communication, contributing to creating social consensus and strengthening people's trust.

Five is,promote administrative reform

On the perspective of digital economic development,The Prime Minister stated that it is necessary to closely follow the actual situation, thoroughly grasp, realize and creatively apply the Party's policies and guidelines and the State's laws to promote national digital transformation in general and digital economic development in particular in a practical and effective manner. Mobilize the participation of the entire political system, people and business community.

Developing the digital economy is an objective requirement, a mandatory requirement in Vietnam's socio-economic development in line with current development trends. Developing the digital economy must be associated with the green economy, circular economy, knowledge economy, and sharing economy; contributing to building an independent, self-reliant economy associated with deep, substantial, and effective international integration.

Digital economic development is a continuous, persistent, non-stop process with no stopping point; we must innovate our thinking, have strategic vision, high determination, great effort, and drastic action; effectively mobilize all resources, promote public-private cooperation to catch up, catch up, and surpass the region and the world.

Digital economic development must strongly apply modern science and technology, promote innovation and start-ups, to improve production capacity, labor productivity, competitiveness, create jobs and livelihoods for people.

Develop the digital economy in a comprehensive and holistic manner, prioritizing quality over quantity; synchronously and effectively combine the development of digital infrastructure, digital services, digital data, digital skills, digital institutions and ensure network security and information security.

Each ministry and locality must have a digital transformation project.

The Prime Minister requested ministers, heads of sectors, secretaries, and chairmen of People's Committees at all levels to be more determined and give strong direction in implementing national digital transformation tasks, focusing on "3 strengthening" and "5 promoting".

"3 boosters" include:Raise awareness of the position, role and importance of digital transformation to every citizen, business and especially leaders; strengthen the potential for digital transformation, considering this a key task that requires priority resource allocation; strengthen public-private cooperation, take public investment to lead private investment, activate and mobilize all social resources.

"5 boosts" include: Promote institutional improvement, create a complete legal corridor to promote national digital transformation and develop the digital economy; promote the development of digital infrastructure and digital platforms to create an important premise for digital economic development; promote innovation and entrepreneurship in digital transformation; promote the development of digital human resources and digital skills to meet the requirements of socio-economic development; promote network security and information security to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of people and businesses, and protect national cyberspace sovereignty early and remotely.

The Prime Minister pointed out key tasks and solutions in the coming time:

Firstly, prioritize resources, ensure completion of assigned tasks in the National Digital Transformation Program and 3 Strategies: On the development of digital government; on the development of digital economy and digital society; on the development of digital data. In particular, urgently handle overdue and backlogged tasks in the 2022-2023 period.

"Each ministry, sector and locality must have a digital transformation project like the Ministry of Public Security has done and connect with Project 06," the Prime Minister requested and assigned the Ministry of Public Security to disseminate the experience.

The Ministry of Information and Communications will soon complete and submit to the Prime Minister for promulgation the Strategy for Development of Vietnam's Semiconductor Industry to 2030; the Ministry of Planning and Investment will submit to the Prime Minister for promulgation the Project "Developing human resources for the semiconductor industry to 2030, with a vision to 2045".

Synchronously and effectively deploy solutions so that the United Nations e-Government Development Index increases by at least 5 places and the cybersecurity index is among the top 30 countries.

Second, strictly implement the directions of the Government, the Prime Minister, the 2024 Action Plan of the National Committee on Digital Transformation and the tasks in Project 06.Ministries, branches and localities must urgently complete steering committees and operate strongly and substantially.

The Ministry of Information and Communications shall preside over and coordinate with relevant ministries and branches to urgently complete and report to the Government to submit to the National Assembly for approval of the Law on Digital Technology Industry; complete and submit to the Government for promulgation decrees guiding the Law on Electronic Transactions (amended) and the Law on Telecommunications (amended); urgently amend and supplement Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP regulating the management of investment in IT applications using State budget funds; research, develop and promulgate documents guiding the assurance of information security at the ministerial and provincial levels; build a system to inspect, supervise, track, synthesize and evaluate the implementation of national digital transformation and at ministries, branches and localities.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communications to promptly complete and promulgate methods and criteria for measuring statistical indicators on the proportion of added value of the digital economy in GDP and in industries and fields in Vietnam.

The Ministry of Public Security shall accelerate the implementation of the tasks of Project 06; preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies to urgently complete the dossier for proposing the development of the Law on Personal Data Protection and the Law on Data to submit to the Government for consideration and approval; continue to expand the utilities on the VNeID application and research and propose the issuance of relevant legal regulations; focus on effectively implementing the pilot issuance of criminal records in Hanoi and Thua Thien Hue before expanding; speed up the progress of implementing the construction of the National Data Center.

The Ministry of Home Affairs urgently completes and reports to the Government to submit to the National Assembly for approval of the Law on Archives (amended); focuses on digitalization in administrative reform, especially administrative procedures.

The Ministry of Justice urgently completes the review of legal documents and supplements solutions for the implementation of resolutions simplifying administrative procedures and citizen papers related to population management within the scope of management of each ministry and branch.

The Ministry of Finance urgently completes and submits to the Government for promulgation a decree regulating the preparation of estimates, management and use of regular State budget funds to implement investment projects in construction, renovation, upgrading, project expansion, asset procurement, repair and upgrade of equipment; reviews, prepares allocation plans, reports to the Government for submission to competent authorities for consideration and decision on unallocated expenditures of the 2024 Central budget to implement procurement, modernization of equipment, investment in facilities and IT application before May 30, 2024; resolutely implements electronic invoices; ensures correct, full and timely collection, expands the collection base and prevents tax losses, especially in food and beverage business services, restaurants, e-commerce, business on cross-border platforms, etc.

Third, ministries and branches urgently organize specialized meetings to digitize sectors and fields under their management.In the second quarter of 2024, the Ministry of Information and Communications will coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to report to the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of organizing a thematic meeting on digitalization of the agricultural and industrial sectors.

Fourth, require localities to closely coordinate with telecommunications businesses to eliminate mobile signal depressions.In villages and hamlets that have national grid electricity, complete before December 2024; continue to improve the quality of mobile broadband network.

Fifth, request ministries, branches and localities to remove difficulties and obstacles, and complete the implementation of 12/53 essential public services.The remaining according to Decision 06/QD-TTg, Decision 422/QD-TTg and 20 priority public services according to Decision No. 206/QD-TTg; connecting information systems for handling administrative procedures with the National Public Service Portal, the system for monitoring and measuring the level of service provision and use (EMC System). 7 localities urgently submit to the People's Council to issue a resolution on exemption and reduction of fees and charges in using online public services (to be completed in May 2024).

Sixth, request ministries, branches and localities to urgently conduct a general review and assessment of the situation of ensuring network information security and network security.for information systems within the scope of management under the guidance of the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of National Defense, and Ministry of Information and Communications.

Regarding the proposals and recommendations at the meeting, the Prime Minister assigned the Government Office and the Ministry of Information and Communications to collect and report to Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang to assign agencies to handle according to their authority. If they exceed their authority, they must report to competent authorities for consideration and decision.

The Prime Minister believes that with the participation of the entire political system, the response of the people and the business community, our country's digital economy will have strong development steps, truly be an important driving force to promote rapid and sustainable socio-economic development, successfully completing the goals and tasks set out by the 13th National Party Congress.