The director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics has said Vietnam may not be able to catch up with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

Tran Dinh Thien 

Speaking at a seminar on 4IR and growth strategies for Vietnamese enterprises in HCMC last week, Tran Dinh Thien gave some examples to prove his point.

First, unlike the first, second and third industrial revolutions which came from a particular field, the director said, 4IR can be found in all aspects of life and has a knock-on effect on almost everything. Many domestic companies whose strongest strength is information technology said there is up to 90% chance that Vietnam will fall behind in the fourth industrial revolution.

Second, Vietnam is a smart people but lags behind other countries, Thien said. In its history, the nation missed two or three opportunities in the world’s industrial revolutions. 

For instance, after the reunification of the country in 1976, the Government advocated for a scientific and technological revolution, but there had been no significant achievements by 1996. 

The concept of knowledge economy was introduced in 1996 but the nation never achieved this goal.

Thien, who earlier presented 4IR reports to Party and Government leaders, said the perception of the current industrial revolution is clear and that the Government has sent out strong messages about it. 

However, specific action plans are not in sight, he noted.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution will have far-reaching impacts on almost all aspects such as economy, society, culture, politics, security and defense. 

Especially, Vietnam is heavily dependent on outsourcing contracts with foreign partners and natural resource exports given its abundant supply of labor but the growing automation trend in 4IR will make large numbers of workers jobless.

Under such circumstances, Thien stressed, if there is no drastic change, the consequences would be serious. 

Local companies are enthusiastic about 4IR and the country also needs them to implement it successfully, he said.

“Global integration is to gain access to new technology to enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution. I’m afraid we will lag in the revolution. However, I have some confidence in the corporate sector. Of course, it would be a laborious and costly process.”

SGT