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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the event. |
Addressing the event, the Vietnamese PM affirmed that digital transformation has an influence on all countries and people and Vietnam has carried out the work in an inclusive and connected approach while promoting public-private cooperation.
The country boasts strengths in economic development and digital transformation, with a fast-growing and open economy.
Vietnam has signed 17 free trade agreements with more than 60 economies, including major markets of the U.S., the European Union, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea. The country’s digital transformation capacity is evident and international friends and partners have shown support for the process in Vietnam, he added.
Vietnam has built a national digital transformation program until 2025 and with a vision to 2030. The process is expected to contribute 20 percent to the gross domestic product by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030.
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PM Pham Minh Chinh and leaders of major Japanese firms in a joint photo |
In the coming time, Vietnam will continue to complete digital transformation institution in accordance with reality and allocate suitable and efficient financial sources to the work.
Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Huy Dung said COVID-19 has sped up digital transformation in Vietnam.
The ratio of online public service users doubled to 24 percent during the pandemic period from that recorded in the past 20 years.
Besides, some 80 percent of Vietnamese students are learning online, higher than the average of over 60 percent unveiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Japanese firms are encouraged to join Vietnam's digital transformation process.
Also on August 24, PM Chinh hosted President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Kitaoka Shinichi.
The two sides noted with satisfaction that the Vietnam - Japan extensive strategic partnership has been thriving across all fields, with a high level of political trust.
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PM Pham Minh Chinh and JICA President Kitaoka Shinichi |
The Vietnamese Government leader highly valued the role and significant contributions of JICA in the implementation of official development assistance (ODA) projects in Vietnam and the prompt provision of more than 4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine and medical supplies from the Japanese Government, which supports Vietnam to roll out programs improving its response capacity to the pandemic and health care services amid the complicated development of COVID-19.
PM Chinh spoke highly of recovery prospects of the Japanese economy, believing that the two nations need to cooperate more closely in the battle against COVID-19 and economic recovery and development.
Given that the Southeast Asian nation requires an enormous amount of capital for strategic infrastructure development, he called on Japan to provide new generation ODA funding for Vietnam in a flexible manner, focusing on the six sectors of health care, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change adaptation, digital transformation, sustainable development, social welfare in relation to the negative impacts of COVID-19, and strategic infrastructure development.
Vietnam will strive to raise the efficiency in the use of ODA, create favorable conditions for JICA experts to work in Vietnam in the context of COVID-19, and minimise impacts on projects’ progress.
For his part, Kitaoka hailed the effectiveness of ODA projects in Vietnam, adding that JICA will take a successful model to support the construction of large hospitals in Vietnam over the years as an example, to build 100 others in various countries.
He pledged to further support Vietnam in economic development, focusing on cooperation in health care, public investment and human resources development.
Source: VNA