The Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam (EUD) in collaboration with the Vietnam Software and IT Services Association (Vinasa) and Eurocham organized a conference on "Digital Economy, Digital Transformation in Vietnam and the EVFTA” recently.

This was the second of three roundtable events organized by EUD with the support of the EU-Vietnam Partnership Facility (EVPF) until the end of 2020.

Giorgio Aliberti, EU Ambassador to Vietnam, said Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and is a very attractive market.

At present, buying and selling can be implemented via internet and procedures can be completed quickly thanks to the development of digital technology. With the changes, procedures are becoming less complicated and less time consuming.

Aliberti said EVFTA is a win-win solution for sharing common values and increasing economic benefits. This could serve as a solution for Vietnam develop its value chain, with potentially spectacular results.

“The government of Vietnam should use EVFTA as a platform to improve the business environment to make it more favorable,” he said.

However, the ambassador noted that the implementation of EVFTA would heavily depend on businesses. When changing legal issues, governments can create favorable factors to promote cooperation and creativity for the business community.

Nguyen Trong Duong from the Authority of Information Technology Application (AITA) said Covid-19 has had a negative impact on social life and economic growth, but has also brought unprecedented opportunity. It is considered a ‘one hundred-year push’ to acclerate digital transformation and digital economy.

Duong believes that EVFTA provides more diversified market opportunities, which will help businesses recover and regain growth momentum. The agreement also provides an open and more favorable investment environment, and a more attractive export outlook and higher opportunities to attract FDI.

“The time when EVFTA took effect coincided with the time when Vietnam launched the national digital transformation program, thus bringing a great opportunity for the two sides to cooperate and exploit each other’s advantages for mutual development,” Duong said.

Carsten Schittek, Minister Counsellor and Head of the EU Trade Section of EUD, said EVFTA would bring many benefits to the digital economy and digital transformation in Vietnam.

Jacques Morisset from the World Bank, noted that Vietnam is moving towards a contactless economy and the trend has been acclerated by Covid-19. However, in addition to digital transformation tools, there must be strong changes in thinking for Vietnam to form a foundation for development in a digital world in the future. 

Thai Khang

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