Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Trần Duy Đông. Photo courtesy of the ministry

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Trần Duy Đông speaks to Vietnam News Agency about plans to support innovation in Việt Nam.

We have heard a lot about the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Taking advantage of the revolution is not only the job of people and enterprises but also the whole society. Is innovation considered the driving force of socio-economic development?

The Fourth Industrial Revolution has affected every corner of our lives and businesses, from traffic to banks, from administration to consumption, from the domestic market to the global market.

Digital transformation has helped businesses stand firm and develop by taking advantage of opportunities and finding their own way. In my opinion, taking advantage of the achievements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is not just the job of people and enterprises.

The Government has built a legal framework to support businesses to make the best use of opportunities from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, to perform digital transformation as well as to attract capital from investors, domestic and foreign investment funds.

We have set the goal of making businesses the centre of the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s development and innovation. The Government has issued an action programme to implement the Politburo's Resolution No 52/NQ-TW dated September 27, 2019 on a number of policies to actively engage in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

However, the level of readiness to engage in the revolution in our country remains low. Science, technology and innovation have not really been the driving force of economic development. The national innovation system has not worked effectively.

Besides the revolution in promoting innovation, we have other driving forces of innovation such as international investment mobility, new generation free trade agreements, Việt Nam's internal factors such as gold population structure and plan to streamline apparatus. Even COVID-19 is a driving force for innovation. All of them aim at one goal: transforming innovation into one of the keys to enhance the nation's status and capacity.

The Government has set “Solidarity, discipline, innovation, inspiration for development” as the theme of 2021. In your opinion, what role does innovation play in national development?

Innovation requires agencies and organisations to change management models, management methods and business methods. Innovation is an opportunity for strong innovation, enhancing productivity, competitiveness and promoting corporate value.

How do you assess the impacts of innovation on society and the economy? What has the Ministry of Planning and Investment prepared to adapt to businesses’ transformation?

First of all, innovation has motivated ministries and sectors to formulate and implement strategies, propose solutions to promote innovation in every activity.

This explains why Việt Nam’s growth remained positive in 2020 and the country gained a number of achievements in terms of import and export, as well as improved investment and business environment in spite of the adverse impacts of COVID-19.

The country’s budget revenue remains high and institutions are reformed to meet the country's development needs.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment has actively developed and implemented the programme to support digital transformation in the 2021-25 period. The goal is that by 2025, 100 per cent of businesses would have their awareness of digital transformation increased and at least 100,000 businesses will receive technical support for digital transformation.

The programme also aims to have at least 100 businesses supported as typical successful digital transformation models and establish a network of experts, including at least 100 consulting organisations and individuals, providing solutions to promote digital transformation for businesses, and support the development of digital platforms.

The ministry has also launched a national programme to support small and medium-sized businesses to start up and join industrial clusters and value chains in the 2021-25 period.

However, I think it is necessary to continue to improve the business investment environment. Building a full legal framework must be the most important solution to support businesses to engage in digital transformation and innovation because this is the main driving force to promote the innovation of Việt Nam in the future.

How will the Ministry of Planning and Investment amend the legal framework to create favourable conditions for domestic businesses to get access to the world’s leading technologies and investment funds?

Innovation is not something far from reality but something close to everyday life, such as new initiatives or creative ideas for the community. Innovation is a continuous, persistent effort and is shown through specific actions.

Innovative thinking must be in every citizen, business or government to create an innovative wave or culture.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment is focusing on amending Decree 39/2018/ND-CP detailing a number of articles of the Law on Small and Medium Enterprises Support to facilitate businesses to approach the world's leading companies and investment funds.

Vietnamese small and medium enterprises have plenty of innovative ideas with high applicability, so our mission is to facilitate those ideas to access the cheapest and fastest resources.

We will make amendments to the law to create a better investment environment so that investors and large investment funds can easily engage in the field of innovation and co-operate with potential Vietnamese enterprises. — VNS