Digital transformation in 2024 will focus on developing the digital economy and concentrate on four pillars: information technology, the digitalization of economic sectors, digital management, and digital data, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has said.

Speaking at the seventh meeting of the National Committee for Digital Transformation on December 28, Prime Minister Chinh asked relevant ministries and agencies to strongly promote science and technological application and innovation to develop Vietnam’s digital economy in line with regional and global development.

It is also necessary to build mechanisms and policies to make use of all resources to strongly develop digital infrastructure and comprehensively apply digital data to serve as a basis for the development of e-commerce and digital services, he said.

He also sought improvements to the effectiveness of online public services, particularly the 53 essential services, to national digital infrastructure, including the building of the National Data Center, to upgrades to the national axis so as to soon commercialize 5G services in 2024, and to eliminate mobile signal dead zones nationwide.

The Prime Minister also called for the effective development of digital platforms, applications, and services, particularly AI platforms, virtual assistants, the VNeID digital citizen application, digital payment applications, electronic invoices and contracts, and personal digital signatures.

Vietnam posted positive results in digital transformation during 2023, the Prime Minister told the meeting.

The World Intellectual Property Organization ranked it 46th in the 2023 Global Innovation Index, up two places compared to 2022.

Vietnam posted the highest growth in its digital economy in Southeast Asia for two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023. E-commerce rose 11 per cent in 2023, digital tourism 82 per cent, and digital payments 19 per cent.

The country’s digital economy is growing at an average of 20 per cent each year and contributed 16.5 per cent to the national GDP in 2023.

Ministries and agencies had reduced and simplified nearly 2,500 business regulations during the year, and streamlined 528 out of 1,086 administrative procedures relating to citizens.