Chairing the Government’s hybrid conference with ministers, heads of sectors and chairpersons of the People’s Committees of centrally-run cities and provinces held on July 19,  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called for the all-people and comprehensive digital transformation, with the engagement of the whole political system, people and enterprises in the development of digital infrastructure, completion of the digital institutions and human resources training, so that Vietnam can catch up with and be on par with other nations amidst global headwinds, according to a report from the Vietnam News Agency.

The PM, who is also Chairman of the National Committee on Digital Transformation, was quoted by the news agency as laying stress on the significance of digital transformation to the country’s socio-economic development, saying that high-quality production forces, including digital transformation, will help Vietnam create economic breakthroughs.

Vietnam has been promoting economic growth, stabilizing macroeconomy, controlling inflation, ensuring major balances and restructuring the economy, among others, as its important missions, he said, adding they have a close link with digital transformation.

The process, he said, has become an inevitable and irreversible trend worldwide, and leaders of ministries, sectors and localities have an important role to play in strengthening the process domestically.

The Government leader went on to say that the conference is an important event for the Government, the Prime Minister and relevant leaders to discuss as well as reach consensus on the approach and take joint actions to boost digital transformation and develop digital Government, economy and society.

Although digital transformation has carved out various socio-economic achievements, there is a huge workload that needs to be done for Vietnam to catch up with other countries, he said, asking the participants to evaluate the process over the past time and propose rational solutions and measures.

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, Vietnam was the fastest-growing digital economy in ASEAN in 2023.

The digital economy contributed 16.5% to the country’s GDP in 2023, and 18.5% in the first half of 2024.