Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister NguyenXuan Phuc has asked the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) toincrease Vietnam’s rankings in information and communication technology (ICT)as ICT is the foundation of all areas, including the digital economy.

The Government leader made the request whileaddressing a conference organised by the MIC in Hanoi on January 15 to deployits tasks in 2019. 

The PM recognised the significant contributionsof the ICT industry to the country’s development in recent times, but expressedhis dissatisfaction with Vietnam’s low rankings in the field.

He said ICT should be a leading sector of thenation, but it has slowed down in recent years.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has loweredVietnam’s rankings in the field due to the country’s poor preparations for the FourthIndustrial Revolution, the PM said, adding that this is the ministry’sresponsibility.

He said the Government agreed with theministry’s proposal of building draft revised laws on telecommunications, frequency,and press. The PM also suggested buildinginstitutions and training officials in the field, noting that this is animportant task of the MIC.

PM Phuc asked the ministry to prioritisesupporting technological start-ups and increase the press management to servenational reforms. The ministry shoulddevelop cyber security businesses to turn Vietnam into a power in this sphere,he said.

The PM requested that the production oftelecommunication equipment must be boosted, stressing that “Vietnamese networkoperators must use Vietnamese equipment.”

He also ordered the MIC to work with foreignsocial network providers to ensure they abide by Vietnam law, adding that theministry must adopt legal and technical measures to handle legal violations.

He hailed Minister of Information andCommunications Nguyen Manh Hung for turning a green light for the test of thefifth-generation (5G) mobile network in Vietnam, firstly in Ho Chi Minh City.

While mentioning Zalo, a social network productdeveloped by a Vietnamese IT firm with 45 million users, the PM asked theministry to continue boosting the building of such social networks in Vietnamso that the number of users is equal to those of foreign social networks,especially as Vietnam has 60 percent of the population using the Internet.

In 2018, the MIC played the important role offacilitating and promoting the sustainable development of the telecommunicationmarket. The Vietnamese domain “.vn” topped the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN) in the number of registrations and among the top 10 of nationaldomains with the highest number of users in the Asian-Pacific region.

The software industry continued to maintain a highgrowth of 13.8 percent with revenues estimated at 4.3 billion USD and exports of3.5 billion USD. The number of software businesses stood at nearly 10,000, with120,000 workers.
The MIC also stepped upinspections of press portals to prevent the spread of false information thatcauses negative impacts on society and affecting national interests.–VNA