On February 13, the ministry issued Plan No. 447/KH-BDTTG on Digital Transformation in 2026-2030. The core objective is to build a Ministry of Ethnic Minority and Religious Affairs that operates based on data and digital technology that is modern and transparent; provides high-quality digital public services with inter-connectivity and information safety assurance; and improves the effectiveness and efficiency of state management in the fields of ethnicity, religion, and belief.

Through this, the Ministry aims to form a specialized data ecosystem to serve state management, direction, administration, and policy formulation while serving citizens and localities, contributing to a digital economy and narrowing the digital divide in ethnic minority areas.

Reducing the economic gap 

The Plan sets out breakthrough goals for each stage. With the goal of Digital Government development, in the 2026 - 2027 period, the Ministry strives for 100 percent of eligible administrative procedures to be performed as end-to-end online services.

The satisfaction rate of citizens and businesses using online public services is expected to reach 90 percent. All internal administrative procedures will be managed in an electronic environment, and 90 percent of the Ministry's shared digital platforms will be put into use.

In the 2028–2030 phase, the satisfaction rate of citizens and businesses is targeted to rise to 99 percent. Notably, 100 percent of end-to-end online public services will apply AI in at least one stage such as receiving applications, processing records, supporting users, or making automated decisions to improve efficiency, speed, and service quality.

All civil servants and public employees are expected to regularly use virtual assistants or smart digital tools, while all leaders will use personal digital signatures to process documents and work records in the digital environment.

Beyond administrative reform, the plan also focuses on developing the digital economy and digital society. During 2025–2027, the ministry will promote the digital economy in ethnic minority areas through platforms providing information, knowledge, and support for appropriate economic models in the digital environment. 

During 2028–2030, it aims to optimize internal operations and reduce operating costs by 30 percent through process automation while promoting OCOP products developed by ethnic minorities.

Regarding narrowing the digital divide, by 2030 the ministry aims to expand telecommunications and Internet services to 80 percent of ethnic minority communities in disadvantaged, remote, and mountainous areas.

Training digital human resources at the grassroots level will also be strengthened. By 2030, 100 percent of village heads and respected community figures among ethnic minorities will be trained in digital transformation. In addition, 80 percent of ethnic minority businesses, cooperatives, and household economic units will receive support to access digital technologies for production and business activities.

The plan also aims to ensure that 100 percent of individuals appointed or operating in the religious sector will be digitally identified in the 2028–2030 period.

“6 clarities” principle

To realize these goals, the plan defines the roles and responsibilities of leaders of agencies and units in directing and implementing digital transformation tasks under the “six clear” principle: clear responsibilities, clear tasks, clear timelines, clear outputs, clear accountability, and clear authority.

It specifically identifies key and core tasks that need focused direction and resource allocation, especially tasks on specifying the Ministry's digital architecture framework and data architecture framework; perfecting infrastructure, building platforms and databases, and developing high-tech human resources.

Relevant agencies are responsible for completing and officially operating the database on religion as well as databases on ethnicity, including data on ethnic minority groups, and for organizing training programs related to ethnicity, religion, and belief.

Building a database for the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority areas for 2026 - 2030 is being implemented in a centralized direction. The collection, digitization, standardization, and updating of data ensure is "Correct - Sufficient - Clean - Live - Unified - Shared."

Network information security assurance includes centralized information security solutions according to the 4-layer model and periodic drills; and real-combat drills to ensure information safety, cyber security, and emergency response for information systems and databases.

Du Lam