On April 22, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung chaired a working session with the Ministry of Science and Technology on the implementation of tasks related to science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung chaired the meeting - Photo: N. BAC
According to the report, by 2025, the proportion of exports of high-tech products will reach nearly 50%. Vietnam ranks 44th out of 139 countries in the global innovation index, and its startup ecosystem ranks 55th in the world.
By the end of March 2026, the 5G network coverage rate by population will be 91.9% with over 22.4 million subscribers; mobile internet speeds will rank 14th in the world, fixed internet speeds will rank 9th in the world; and IPv6 infrastructure will rank 7th in the world.
Removing barriers to science and technology.
Regarding the digital economy, digital government, and digital society, the number of digital technology businesses increased sharply, with an additional 1,394 enterprises. Exports of digital technology products are estimated at over 45 billion USD, an increase of 32.2%. The export value of digital technology products is estimated at 172 billion USD. The scale of e-commerce reached 36 billion USD (three times that of 2020).
In conclusion, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung emphasized that Resolution 57 is a strategic direction of special importance; its implementation must be more decisive, substantive, and effective. Therefore, it is necessary to prioritize resources and increase the proportion of spending on strategic technology development, high technology, and core technology in the total annual budget expenditure to 3%.
Innovate management thinking, shifting the focus of business support policies from input-based to output-based support. Completely remove barriers associated with controlled risk acceptance, focusing on management, finance, and investment mechanisms, and increasing autonomy for public service units.
Mastering core technologies, prioritizing the acquisition, transfer, and mastery of foundational technologies, advanced technologies, strategic technologies, core technologies, and digital technologies. Managing and promoting the healthy and efficient development of digital assets and cryptocurrencies.
Promoting digital transformation, especially the digital economy, aims to ensure: the digital economy's share of GDP reaches 30%, the percentage of businesses engaged in innovation activities exceeds 40%, and e-commerce growth reaches 23-25%. It also ensures 100% of eligible public services are fully available online.
Switch to an order-based, task-assigning mechanism.
Accordingly, he requested a review of tasks to ensure specific assignments, regular monitoring and supervision, and to minimize delays. He also called for a review of the list of strategic technologies and strategic technology products, aiming for a streamlined approach and focusing on areas of decisive importance to national development.
Establish an inter-sectoral coordination task force and set up a unified direction and coordination mechanism to organize and implement strategic technology development programs, especially coordination among businesses, schools, and research institutions, to avoid wasting resources.
Guidelines for the use of state funding for science and technology projects. Note the shift from a grant-based mechanism to a commissioned, output-based system. Establish a controlled risk assessment mechanism (sandbox) in research.
In particular, the head of government emphasized the need to focus on restructuring research infrastructure and the innovation ecosystem. He stressed the importance of decisively restructuring 16 key national laboratories.
News summary.
