On the morning of October 12, 2024, at the Government headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Chairman of the National Committee on Digital Transformation, chaired the program celebrating National Digital Transformation Day 2024.

The program was connected online from the Government headquarters to the People's Committees of provinces and cities under the central government.

Also attending were comrades: Nguyen Hoa Binh, Politburo Member, Standing Deputy Prime Minister, Standing Vice Chairman of the National Committee on Digital Transformation; Le Thanh Long, Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister; Senior Lieutenant General Luong Tam Quang, Politburo Member, Minister of Public Security; Nguyen Manh Hung, Member of the Party Central Committee, Minister of Information and Communications; leaders of ministries, central agencies, localities; representatives of enterprises, universities, and community digital technology teams from various localities.

From the Ministry of Information and Communications, there was Deputy Minister Pham Duc Long, Member of the National Committee on Digital Transformation, and representatives of relevant units under the Ministry.

The Government is determined to implement deep, comprehensive, substantial, and effective digital transformation

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh: Digital transformation is the mission of the entire Party and people, contributing to building a powerful and prosperous country, leaving no one behind.

In his opening speech, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that digital transformation is an inevitable trend, an objective requirement, and a strategic choice, a top priority for the country's rapid and sustainable development. Digital transformation is the mission of the entire Party and people, contributing to building a powerful and prosperous country, leaving no one behind.

The Prime Minister pointed out several emerging trends affecting all countries and economies, such as digital transformation, green transformation, climate change response, connections between economies, especially infrastructure connections, transportation connections, and digital connections; harmonious, sustainable, inclusive development, leaving no one behind. Vietnam has taken the right direction by focusing on promoting digital transformation, developing infrastructure and green transformation, bringing clear benefits to the country and its people. The Prime Minister said that the Government's decision to designate October 10 each year as National Digital Transformation Day aims to raise awareness and accelerate the implementation of digital transformation tasks. In 2024, the theme of national digital transformation is developing the digital economy with four pillars: information technology industry, digitization of economic sectors, digital governance, and digital data. The Prime Minister affirmed three breakthroughs in digital transformation: digital institutions, digital infrastructure, and digital human resources, while requiring active involvement of leaders at all levels and sectors to achieve this goal.

Community digital technology teams contribute to popularizing digital technology and skills to every citizen

Standing Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh

At the event, delegates watched a video clip titled "The imprint of community digital technology teams in the national digital transformation journey." The Community Digital Technology Team (CDTT) draws inspiration from the Community Covid Team, forming a nationwide network that provides practical and effective support for the country's overall digital transformation; it acts as an extended arm of the Digital Transformation Steering Committee from provincial to grassroots levels. Currently, there are about 95,000 CDTTs with 450,000 members. The CDTT is nationwide in scope and uniquely Vietnamese in character. The clip introduced the impact, role, and effectiveness of CDTTs across the country in popularizing digital technology and skills to every citizen. This is considered the most effective way to change the national awareness of digital transformation for each citizen.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung

Also at the event, exemplary members of Community Digital Technology Teams from 63 provinces and cities nationwide shared typical stories about applying digital technology to life and work. Mr. Sinh Di Gai, head of Lo Lo Chai village, Lung Cu commune, Dong Van district, Ha Giang province, has guided local people to effectively apply digital technology to develop smart tourism. Homestay businesses have applied digital platforms such as Agoda, Booking, and Facebook to promote and manage services, attracting more than 53,000 tourists. He also cooperated with the commune police to deploy the VNeID electronic identification application for households, helping replace traditional papers.

Mr. Sinh Di Gai, head of Lo Lo Chai village, Lung Cu commune, Dong Van district, Ha Giang province

Veteran Vu Dinh Kip, team leader of the CDTT in Quarter 4, Lam Son ward, Bim Son town, Thanh Hoa province, shared the achievements of the Team in changing people's awareness and habits of using technology. Thanks to dedicated guidance, many households have begun using digital services such as cashless payments, transactions on e-commerce platforms, and online public services.

Ms. Tran Thi Thu Giau, team leader of CDTT in Ward 1, Sa Dec city, Dong Thap province, introduced the "Digital Transformation Street" model and activities to support people in accessing digital technology, such as using the VNeID application and online public services.

Ms. Tran Thi Thu Giau, team leader of CDTT in Ward 1, Sa Dec city, Dong Thap province

Standing Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh and Minister Nguyen Manh Hung directly answer questions from Community Digital Technology Team members nationwide

A highlight of this year's National Digital Transformation Day celebration program was the panel discussion, where Standing Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung, and leaders of ministries and agencies answered numerous questions from CDTT members across the country about strategies for developing the digital economy and society; digital infrastructure, especially in remote areas; simplifying procedures and operations when implementing online public services; solutions against online fraud; and specific policies for disadvantaged groups to help them easily access and use digital services.

Answering the question about the Government's mission in digital transformation, the Deputy Prime Minister said that the Government plays a creative and supportive role in strongly promoting digital transformation, formulating a national digital transformation strategy with the requirement to catch up, progress together, and surpass, in which "progressing together and surpassing in thinking must come first."

Minister Nguyen Manh Hung answering questions from CDTT members

The Government also needs to improve the legal framework for operating a digital society, focus on investing in digital infrastructure such as electricity, waves, and data, and pay attention to training high-quality human resources.

Regarding the question about specific policies for the poor, disabled, and elderly who have difficulty accessing and using technology and online public services, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh said that digital transformation has the advantage of blurring distances, such as the gap in access to public services between people in remote areas and those in cities.

For disadvantaged groups, the consistent viewpoint of the Party and State is to leave no one behind, both in real life and digital life.

The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out several solutions, first of all, the need to bring as many public services as possible onto digital platforms, which is the responsibility of ministries, branches, and localities. Along with that, it is necessary to invest in electricity and telecommunication infrastructure to ensure opportunities for people in remote, isolated, and disadvantaged areas to access digital services. For instance, in some places, we invest in bringing electricity to just ten households, which is not economically efficient, but it must be done as a social policy.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and delegates attending the program

Answering the question about many remote areas still lacking electricity grid, which creates difficulties for implementing digital technology as well as solutions to overcome this, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung said that to implement nationwide digital transformation, three factors need to be ensured: every citizen must have a smartphone, every household must be connected to fiber optics, and mobile coverage must reach 100% of the population.

From October 15, mobile operators will officially shut down 2G networks and are currently implementing a program to support smartphone purchases with a 50% discount to support citizens. After October 15, most mobile phones in Vietnam will be smartphones. Currently, 85% of households have fiber optic connections, compared to the world average of 51.5% and 70% in Europe. The Ministry of Information and Communications is directing acceleration of the fiber optic Internet coverage to all households.

Regarding mobile coverage, Vietnam has covered 99.8% of the population with 4G, equivalent to developed countries at 99.4%. In the past two years, the Ministry has coordinated with mobile operators to provide coverage for 2,500 villages with signal gaps, and there are still more than 700 villages without coverage. This year and early next year, the Ministry will continue to provide coverage for about 600 more villages. For approximately 130 villages without electricity, the Ministry has sent a document requesting Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) to urgently resolve the issue. In addition, the Ministry is also cooperating with mobile operators to use low-orbit telecommunications satellites to provide coverage for remote areas, sea areas, and areas that cannot be covered by terrestrial mobile networks.

Minister Nguyen Manh Hung and Governor of the State Bank Nguyen Thi Hong taking a photo with representatives of CDTT

Answering the question about artificial intelligence (AI) applications to support citizens in using online public services, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung said that AI applications in the world are currently very diverse, but the most common is the virtual assistant (VA). VA plays an important role in guiding citizens to use online public services. This is also the development direction that the Ministry of Information and Communications is implementing. The Ministry is drafting content requiring all public services at all levels from central to local to have VA to guide citizens. At the same time, the Ministry is also developing a virtual assistant platform that allows public service portals to use it in common. In addition, the Ministry is also directing large technology companies in Vietnam to develop VAs to support officials and civil servants in their daily work, provide legal assistance to citizens, and develop specialized virtual assistants.

Vietnam makes strong progress in international digital transformation rankings

In his concluding remarks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh noted that the 2024 National Digital Transformation Day celebration program was connected online to 63 local points. This is the third consecutive year we have organized this important event, demonstrating the determination of the Party, State, political system, business community, and people nationwide to join hands in national digital transformation, developing the digital economy, digital society, and digital citizenship.

Digital transformation is an objective requirement and a strategic choice for Vietnam, helping to promote new growth drivers, restructure the economy, and transform the growth model towards greening and digitization.

The Prime Minister highly appreciated the achievements that Vietnam has made in the digital transformation process, especially the strong steps forward in international digital transformation rankings. Specifically, Vietnam's E-Government Development Index has increased by 15 places, ranking 71st out of 193 countries, the Global Innovation Index has increased by 2 places, ranking 44th out of 133, and the Global Cybersecurity Index has increased by 8 places, ranking 17th out of 194 countries.

Regarding the information technology industry, it has developed and had a positive impact on many sectors and fields, with more than 51,000 digital technology enterprises creating 1.5 million jobs. Revenue from the digital technology industry in the first 9 months of 2024 is estimated at 118 billion USD, an increase of 17.8% compared to the same period. There are many new investment projects, production expansion, and assembly with values of billions of USD from Samsung, Qualcomm, Infineon, Amkor...

E-commerce continues to develop rapidly, among the top 10 countries with the highest e-commerce growth rates in the world (revenue in 2023 reached 20.5 billion USD, up 23%; expected to reach 27.7-28 billion USD in 2024, up 36% - the highest in 10 years).

The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of early commercialization of 5G in major cities. Along with that, upgrading and developing Internet of Things infrastructure to enhance connectivity, automatic and intelligent data collection and sharing, serving the development of various sectors, fields, and smart cities.

The Prime Minister clearly stated the viewpoint on digital economy development: Upgrading the digital economy with stronger, more comprehensive, and more inclusive breakthroughs and reforms for Vietnam to catch up, progress together, and rise up in various fields.

With the efforts, determination, and proactive creativity of the entire political system, business community, and citizens over time and the outstanding activities at the "2024 National Digital Transformation Day Celebration" event, the Prime Minister believes that the national digital transformation will progress quickly, sustainably, comprehensively, inclusively, substantially, and effectively, making an important contribution to promoting socio-economic development, creating a prosperous and happy life for the people, building a powerful and prosperous country in the new era, the era of the country's rise./.