Infrastructure ready for digital economy, society: Minister

Green and digital development is the main development trend in the first half of the 21st century.

 

Vietnam, which wants to make a breakthrough and change rankings, needs to take full advantage of the opportunity by going ahead, says Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung in his article about digital development and economy.

In order to develop rapidly and sustainably, the most suitable solutions in the current period is green and digital development, because it costs the least amount of resources. The technologies of the fourth industrial revolution also focus on green and digtal development. Innovation is mostly in the green and digital field.

Green and digital development can be seen as the main development of the first half of the 21st century. The country that wants to make a breakthrough and change rankings need to take full advantage of the opportunity. But they must be ahead other people, other countries.

The development of a digital economy and a digital society needs a modern digital infrastructure. It takes tens of years and a lot of money to build material infrastructure. But it’ll take much less time, maybe just several years, and less costs, fewer by tens of times, to develop digital infrastructure.

Vietnam strives to have digital infrastructure listed in the world’s top 30 by 2025. The strategy on developing Vietnam digital infrastructure that the Prime Minister issued in 2021 sets a key task that digital infrastructure must be listed among the top so as to create the foundation for the rapid development of the digital economy and digital society.

Digital economy now accounts for 15 percent of global GDP. The figures are 21 percent for the US and 30 percent for China. This means that the country which began later is now ahead. Digital economy in Vietnam makes up 10 percent of GDP and it strives to raise the figure to 20 percent by 2025.

If we can continue maintaining a growth rate of over 30 percent like in 2015-2020, Vietnam’s digital economy is likely to account for 25 percent of GDP by 2025.

The gital economy needs to grow 3-4 times faster than GDP, or 20-25 percent per annum.

The answer to the question about how to reach that goal lies in the national digital transformation program that the Prime Minister approved in June 2020, and the strategy on digital economy development expected to be approved in the third quarter of 2021.

In short, this solution is the combination of a strong market and State. The market is strong in the short term, but the State needs to be strong in long term, strong in vision, and use public spending and public investment, about 1-1.5 percent of annual state budget, to lead all social resources to participate in the development of the digital economy and society.

All countries that have turned into dragons or tigers rely mainly on their spiritual strength. But the strength is only activated when these countries have big dreams and big ambitions. The 13th Party Congress has for the first time aroused the aspiration to develop a strong, prosperous and happy country.

The task of the Vietnamese revolutionary press and the Vietnamese media is to arouse this aspiration in all Vietnamese people, and turn the aspiration into spiritual strength, which becomes action to develop the country. 

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung