Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam must strive to become apowerhouse in the field of information technology, Prime Minister Nguyen XuanPhuc said, adding that the Ministry of Information and Communications, as theState management agency in the field, should lead the efforts towards thisgoal.

Speaking at a working session in Hanoi on September 8 withthe Ministry of Information and Communications, the PM urged the ministry tocreate an environment conducive to high technology, play a guiding role indigital transformation and industry 4.0.

He also instructed the ministry to enhance its management ofthe press and social media and develop human resources for nationalconstruction and development.

Pointing out the sector’s shortcomings, the PM said manyshortcomings remain in press planning and management work, resulting in commercializationof press coverage which erodes public trust in the press. Meanwhile, policyconsultation remains slow with poor quality.

Phuc also pointed to a serious problem that Vietnam is oneof the countries highly vulnerable to malware infection via multimedia devices. 

Outlining the direction and tasks for the ministry, the PMsaid the ministry must guide the efforts to build a digital economy, an e-governmentand develop e-commerce in the context of the fourth industrial revolution.

The ministry was required to work closely with the PartyCentral Committee’s Commission on Education and Information in orienting presscoverage, and better managing social media.

PM Phuc also called attention to the development oftelecommunications infrastructure, adding that the ministry should support the buildingof several leading firms so that they will train others during the Industry 4.0.

The ministry should concentrate on developing the IT andelectronic telecom industries to transform Vietnam into a manufacturer of IT andtelecommunications electronics and software developer from its current statusof importer and outsourcing country.

At the meeting, acting Minister of Information andCommunications and deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission onEducation and Information Nguyen Manh Hung reported that with nearly 1 millionkm of optical cable lines reaching villages, communes and districts in 63cities and provinces nationwide, Vietnam has become one of the countries withthe world’s highest fiber optic cable coverage. The mobile coverage has reached99.5 percent of the population while 3G/4G coverage has come to 98 percent.

In the next period, Vietnam will strive to become among top10 countries globally with the most developed telecommunications network.

With more than 28,000 IT firms and 900,000 workers, the ITindustry has expanded by over 20 percent annually over the past decade. Lastyear, the sector earned 91.6 billion USD in revenue, 81.6 billion USD of whichwas from hardware, 3.8 billion USD from software, 5.4 billion USD from ITservices, and 800 million USD from digital contents. Its exports reached 83.4billion USD, contributing over 39.2 trillion VND (1.7 billion USD) to the Statebudget.

In the next decade, the postal sector is expected to surpasstelecommunications in terms of revenue thanks to an annual growth of 35-40percent.

Head of the Commission on Education and Information Vo VanThuong asked the ministry to continue refining laws and policies on informationand mass media to fix existing shortcomings.

He suggested that domestic social media suppliers need toreceive support to increase their competitiveness while legal responsibilityfor information supply should be enhanced so as to address the spread of fakeinformation.-VNA