At the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecom World 2019 held in Hungary, the two sides agreed to enhance information exchange on digital transformation.
According to a press release, they decided to “strengthen activities to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties in 2020”.
The event was held from 9-12 September. The Vietnamese Minister of Information and Communications (MIC), Nguyen Manh Hung, attended separate meetings with the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Minister for Innovation and Technology, and the ITU Secretary.
At the meeting with the Hungarian Ministers, the sides reached a consensus to share information on the development of digital economies and transformation.
They agreed to cooperate to connect e-commerce and logistics among businesses in the two countries and promote the realisation of cooperation agreements.
The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade affirmed that Hungary is ready to accelerate cooperative programmes with Vietnam and experiences of organising the ITU as Vietnam will host the event in 2020.
During the meeting with ITU Secretary, General Houlin Zhao, the two sides exchanged views on the coordination plan and preparation for the organisation of the ITU Telecom World 2020.
The event also included exhibitions of ICT products, equipment, applications, and services, and high-level policy forums.
The ITU Secretary highly appreciated the role of Vietnam in developing global telecommunications and expressed his confidence that Vietnam will successfully host the event, the release said.
Over 5000 delegates from more than 100 countries were present. Participants included more than 200 senior leaders such as ministers, heads of management agencies, international organisations, and global media.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the MIC Minister stated that the role and transformation of telecommunications and ICT will be the new infrastructure in the digital world. Countries need to collaborate to create innovations in technology, policies, and strategies.
“A new wave of connectivity is coming, which is connecting everyone, connecting everything, connecting everywhere, and connecting at all times,” he said.
Vietnam is pushing to transform its telecommunications infrastructure into ICT infrastructure, with the project of the National Digital Transformation Strategy. Accordingly, the network security and digital principles will be the basic requirements of digital transformation.
The strategy shows that digital transformation deeply impacts structure and relationships in the global economy. Replacing manual labour with automation, capital with knowledge and data, and changing consumption habits as well as the behaviour of the society.
The strategy sets specific objectives. They are:
- By 2030, Vietnam’s digital economy should grow 20% per year.
- It should be one of the top 20 countries in the world and the top three in ASEAN in the global and regional competitiveness index, respectively.
- It should be on the list of top 50 e-government countries.
- Labour productivity should increase by 8-10% per year.
