Vietnam's General Secretary and President, To Lam, as Chairman of the Central Steering Committee for Science, Technology, Innovation, and Digital Transformation, has officially instructed the acceleration of digitalization within the political system. This directive follows an evaluation of the implementation of Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW, which highlighted the need for fundamental changes in data-driven governance.
Although progress has been recorded over the past year, To Lam highlighted a serious paradox regarding budget effectiveness. He noted that the disbursement rate for digital transformation funds remains extremely low, below 12.2%, while on the other hand, there is a fragmentation of information systems among agencies that hinders interoperability. This condition causes the bureaucratic workload to become inefficient and hinders public service delivery.
As a strategic step, the government has set six key priorities that must be resolved, including strengthening digital infrastructure, developing shared data platforms, and adopting scalable artificial intelligence (AI). The primary focus has now shifted to national data standardization so that it can be accessed in an integrated manner by various ministries and regions, avoiding wasteful overlapping technology investments.
Furthermore, To Lam emphasized cybersecurity as an absolute priority that must be integrated from the system design phase, rather than as an add-on. He asserted that protecting citizen and business data from leaks or misuse is the primary responsibility of every agency head.
To ensure the success of this transformation, the evaluation mechanism will be shifted to an output-based model. Agency leaders will be assessed based on concrete achievements, adherence to schedules, and the effectiveness of using shared platforms. This decisiveness is the government's effort to ensure that digital transformation is not just rhetoric, but a primary driver of economic growth and national governance efficiency heading toward 2026.
