On the occasion of the 14th National Party Congress, an important milestone opening a new development phase for the country, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung shared views on the role of science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation as the central drivers of Vietnam’s fast and sustainable development.

Shifting from “digitization” to “data-driven operations”

Minister, looking back at the 2021–2025 term, which changes do you think have become substantive and laid the foundation for improving the competitiveness of the economy?

I believe the most outstanding result of science, technology, and innovation recently lies not in isolated achievements, but in a shift in awareness, thinking, and methodology. We have laid the groundwork for a new development framework in which science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation are oriented toward outputs, with socio-economic effectiveness as the central criterion. The entire chain of research – application – commercialization is placed within the logic of solving development challenges, rather than operating in a fragmented way.

These shifts have become substantive, most clearly demonstrated in three aspects.

First is the enabling institutional framework, focused on removing bottlenecks so that science and technology can quickly enter daily life and production and business activities. In the final year of the term (2025) alone, the workload of law-making was very large and left a clear imprint.

The Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) presided over and coordinated the drafting, revision, and submission to the National Assembly for the promulgation of 10 laws and 1 resolution; at the Government and Prime Minister level, 23 decrees, 1 resolution, and 5 decisions drafted by the Ministry were signed and issued. This policy system demonstrates the determination to "unlock" institutional bottlenecks, one of the biggest barriers to the development of science, technology, and innovation for many years.

Second is that digital infrastructure and digital governance capacity have improved markedly and been internationally recognized. According to United Nations assessments, Vietnam rose 15 places in the 2024 E-Government Development Index, ranking 71st out of 193 countries. 

Regarding telecommunications, Vietnam's internet speed has climbed strongly, belonging to the leading group in the region and the top 10-15 globally; 4G coverage reached over 99.8 percent, 5G over 91 percent of the population; 100 percent of communes and wards have fiber-optic broadband infrastructure, with fiber-optic coverage to each household reaching 87.6 percent; and the smartphone user rate is estimated at over 85 percent.

These figures show that Vietnam has moved from "digitization" to "data-driven operations," with digital infrastructure becoming the platform to enhance governance efficiency and reduce costs for citizens and businesses.

Third is the innovation capacity and startup ecosystem, contributing to raising national competitive positioning. Vietnam's Global Innovation Index ranked 44th globally, while also being recognized as one of nine middle-income countries with the fastest ranking improvement over the past decade.

In my opinion, the most valuable thing about the 2021-2025 period is not just the numbers but the transformation momentum that has been formed: innovation has entered business operations, digital transformation has entered economic operations, and result-based management is gradually becoming the norm.

Science and technology achievements are often difficult to see immediately in daily life. Which specific changes over the past 5 years have citizens and businesses benefited the most, from administrative procedures and public services to production capacity and product quality?

I think there are three specific changes. First is the change in how the State serves citizens and businesses. Administrative procedures and public services are more convenient and transparent thanks to digital transformation. 

Paperwork has been reduced, travel reduced, and waiting times shortened. By 2025, the proportion of public services generating online applications reached nearly 84 percent. Administrative handling is rapidly shifting from “lining up and waiting” to the digital environment.

Enterprise capacity and productivity have also improved markedly and in greater depth through the application of technology and process innovation. Automation, digital governance, and data exploitation help businesses optimize operations, shorten production time, reduce errors, save materials and energy, and improve supply-chain management efficiency.

From the citizens’ perspective, as digital transformation becomes comprehensive, the digital space becomes a new living space, where essential services in education, healthcare, finance, commerce and more are provided quickly and in a personalized way, ensuring that everyone can participate in and benefit from the digital environment.

Citizens benefit from convenience, businesses benefit from productivity and quality, and the State benefits from governance capacity. These are the most substantive measures of science, technology, and innovation in real life.

Thai Khang