The problem of bringing Vietnam “shoulder to shoulder with powers in the five continents" needs to be solved in 25 years, and the ICT industry needs to be 15 years ahead. The central responsibility in digital transformation and the mission of making Vietnam a high-income developed country has been given to the ICT sector. This great and honorable national mission requires the cooperation of the entire ICT forces, with the guidance of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

This was the message delivered by Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung at a meeting with representatives of the ICT industry on March 26. VietNamNet would like to introduce the full text of the speech:

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung

The 13th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam arouses the aspiration of building a prosperous and mighty Vietnam, turning Vietnam into a developed country with high income in 25 years, and it shows the way to the destination through science - technology and innovation, digital technology and digital transformation. The decisive factor for success is the work of building the strong and clean Party to lead the country.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is mainly related to the digital revolution. That is digital technology and digital transformation. Each new industrial revolution will create opportunities for only a few countries to make breakthrough to become developed countries. Those are the countries that are at the forefront of the new. If Vietnam wants to take advantage of this opportunity, it must go first.

The core of the digital revolution is the ICT industry. The nuclear responsibility in digital transformation, the mission of making Vietnam a high-income developed country has been given to the ICT sector, the ICT community, and ICT associations. Never before have we had such a great national mission. The responsibility is enormous, but it is also an honor.

History has given us the mission to be at the forefront once again. Twenty years, 30 years ago, it was at the forefront for Doi Moi (renovation), to get out of poverty. And now, we are no longer a low-income country. But once again we are a pioneer in turning the country into a Dragon, a Tiger and bring our country shoulder to shoulder with the powers of the five continents. But it is only 25 more years, not 100 years. That is, we talk about the mission, responsibility and work of the people who are sitting here today. We do not assign tasks to future generations. And so we need a different mindset, a different approach, and different thinking.

A new mission is always the beginning of change. In the past it was to catch up, compete with and then get ahead, but now it is to take the lead from the beginning. In the past it was outsourcing but now it is “Make In Vietnam”. In the past profit was the main target but now it is the national mission. Previously, we focused on exports, but now we emphasize the domestic market. Previously, we solved the Western problems, but now we solve the Vietnamese problems to help Vietnam develop and go to the world. Previously, we asked what the Government had done for us; now we ask what we have done for our Government, for our country. We saw more difficulties in the past, but now we see more opportunities. Previously, we performed from small to big, from easy to difficult things, but now we do the big thing first, the hard tasks first, because when we face big challenges, we will find breakthrough solutions and our ordinary people will become smarter.

Great challenges always need solidarity and cooperation. Vietnam has always been like that. In the past, our national heroes were those who contributed to drive away foreign invaders. But this is the first time that there is no foreign invasion but the aspiration for a mighty and prosperous Vietnam, a strong Vietnam so that no enemy will dare come to invade. And national heroes will be the ones who bring Vietnam to prosperity and mightiness.

This is the great mission of 100 years. And so, more than ever, the ICT field needs solidarity, teamwork, and unanimous sharing to take on big jobs. The ICT associations should solve the problem of cooperation in the industry, which is something we have not done well.

The Ministry of Information and Communications has a mission to lead the ICT industry of Vietnam. Strategic directions, major content were outlined in 2019-2020. That was the postal infrastructure with digital address platform to each household that will ensure the physical flow besides the flow of data. That was the telecommunications infrastructure to become digital infrastructure. That was digital transformation with three pillars of digital government, digital economy and digital society. That was the aim to have Vietnam become a cybersecurity powerhouse to protect Vietnam's prosperity in cyberspace. To develop 100,000 Vietnamese digital technology enterprises with the mission of Make In Vietnam. To have Vietnam's ICT enter the world's top 50 in 2025 and the top 30 in 2030.

As the state management agency, the Ministry of Information and Communications is always interested in and creates all favorable conditions for ICT associations. The year 2021 will be the year of strongly implementing the new strategic directions of the sector. The Ministry of Information and Communications hopes that ICT associations and businesses will actively participate in realizing these strategies.

The year 2021 is the first year of a new period, not only for the ICT industry but also for Vietnam and the world. The year 2021 is not only a new year, but also the first year of a 5-year period for Vietnam to surpass the lower middle income, the first year of a 10-year period to 2030 when Vietnam will become an average income country and the first year of a period of 25 years for Vietnam to become a developed country with high income in 2045.

I hope that ICT associations, clubs and the business community will have a breakthrough in the coming period to make Vietnam a powerful country in ICT, contributing to the realization of the aspiration to build a prosperous and mighty Vietnam in the mid-century. Our ICT sector is the guiding field for Vietnam's digital economy, and therefore, we must become an ICT powerhouse not in 2045 but in the decade of 2021 - 2030.

Minister Nguyen Manh Hung

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