Hanoi (VNA) –The first national forum on the development of digital economy and digital society tookplace in the northern province of Nam Dinh on September 14, discussingorientations and trends to help realise the country’s relevant targets for 2030and beyond.

In his opening speech, Minister ofInformation and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said that building a digitaleconomy and digital society was identified as a strategic focus of Vietnam inthe time ahead.

Vietnam targets that by 2025, the digitaleconomy will make up 20% of the gross domestic product (GDP), the rate ofadults using smartphones reach 80%, and the rate of people aged 15 and overhaving payment accounts at banks or other licensed institutions increase to80%. The respective targets for 2030 are 30%, 95%, and over 95%.

Implementing the national strategyfor digital economy and digital society development, the country has fulfilledtwo of the 17 targets and 20 of the 114 tasks. The share of the digital economyin GDP has expanded continually, from 11.91% in 2021 to 14.29% in 2022 andnearly 15% in the first half of 2023, he reported.

Tran Tuan Anh, Politburo member and Chairman of the PartyCentral Committee’s Commission for Economic Affairs, said the targets set inthe Government’s national strategy for digital economy and digital society developmentby 2025, with orientations to 2030, are big challenges amid numerousdifficulties facing the digital transformation process nationwide.

The strategy outlined a vision that buildinga digital economy is to help enrich people so that Vietnam can surpass thelower-middle-income status by 2025, obtain the upper-middle-income status by2030, and become a high-income country by 2045.

Meanwhile, a digital society willhelp people secure more happiness, take part in social activities more comprehensively,and have more favourable conditions to benefit from social security policies,thus contributing to efforts to turn Vietnam into a safe, humane, and inclusivedigital country, Anh added.

Atthe forum, aside from a high-level session, three workshops were also held todiscuss the development of innovation into an impetus for the digital economy,the development of the digital technology industry into a stepping stone forbuilding inclusive and comprehensive digital economy and digital society, andthe role of data and artificial intelligence in digital economy and digital societydevelopment.

The forum also included an exhibitionwhere over 20 IT solution suppliers showcased technological applications fordigital economy development such as digital payment, e-wallet, near fieldcommunication (NFC), digital signature, blockchain, e-commerce, digitalecosystem, and information safety solutions./.