According to a press release, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) is expected to announce the Vietnam national strategy on digital transformation.
The Prime Minister, in his speech at the year-end meeting of MIC, called for greater efforts from businesses to pave the way for digital transformation in media and publication sectors, especially to create services for other enterprises.
He also asked the Ministry to make a breakthrough in e-government in 2020, promoting connectivity and data sharing among ministries, sectors, and localities.
Looking back on the past achievements, the cabinet leader said according to the 2019 Integrated Index for Postal Development announced by the Universal Postal Union, Vietnam ranked 45th out of 172 countries, up five places.
In telecommunication, the nation jumped to 50th place in 2019 from 100th in 2017 in the Global Cybersecurity Index by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Vietnam also had the second-lowest number of mobile malware detected in Southeast Asia, only behind Singapore.
The sector’s total revenue in 2019 is estimated to stand at US$135 billion, a year-on-year hike of 8.8% and it is forecast to contribute more than US$43 billion to the state budget, up 23.4% from a year earlier.
The Government Chief suggested adopting more technological advances in meetings during 2020 when Vietnam undertakes its role as ASEAN Chair.
The MIC Minister said that the sector’s outstanding achievement is the licensing of telecom and mobile companies to pilot the 5G network. Vietnam has become a leader in ASEAN in 5G commercialisation.
After the one-year trial, more than 1 million subscribers successfully switched to the new network, reaching 82% of the total network users.
The information and communications sector’s events in 2019 have delivered strong messages and guidelines for a new period of development, the release said. The postal codes and goods delivery are capable of reaching out to 24 million households.
An electronic mart will be available in every household and a widespread postal system will ensure the flow of e-commerce. 5G trials in 2019 and its commercialisation in 2020 mean that Vietnam from now on will keep abreast with the global technology.
In a move to digitalise government processes, the Deputy Prime Minister recently ordered that all documents sent and received on the national electronic document exchange platform must be digitally signed and authenticated in line with a circular on the use of digital signatures in government agencies.
The national e-document exchange platform was launched in March 2019, as part of wider efforts to build e-government systems.
The Deputy PM said that ministers, leaders of government agencies, and heads of provincial governments should set an example by using digital signatures to approve documents and deal with tasks in the online environment.
The ministries, agencies, and local authorities were requested to connect their document management systems, which must be completed by June 2020.
The Deputy PM also called for mechanisms to ensure the consistent performance of the infrastructure to send and receive e-documents, backup measures in case of disruptions, and responsibility for information leakages during the process of transferring documents.
