Politburo member, Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) Central Committee and head of the CPV Central Committee’s Organisation Commission Nguyễn Duy Ngọc held a working session with Director of GovTech Li Hongyi on August 24. VNA/VNS Photo Phương Hoa

SINGAPORE – Politburo member, Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) Central Committee and head of the CPV Central Committee’s Organisation Commission Nguyễn Duy Ngọc held a working session with Director of Open Government Products at Singapore’s Government Technology Agency (GovTech) Li Hongyi in the island-city state on August 24.

Ngọc praised GovTech’s development and innovation record and said Việt Nam wants to learn from the agency and from Li personally on science, technology, innovation, digital transformation and artificial intelligence to improve public administration and civil service.

Singapore is one of Asia’s leading hubs for technology, innovation and finance, Ngọc said, adding that he and Vietnamese ministry officials have sought substantive meetings to turn the two countries’ strategic orientations for science, technology, innovation and digital transformation cooperation into reality following Genereal Secretary of the CPV Central Committee and President Tô Lâm’s state visit to Singapore last May.

Ngọc noted that at the first Strategic Dialogue on August 25 under an agreement between the two Parties and countries, discussions will focus on workforce training, sci-tech, and digital transformation. These are all priority areas where Vietnam wants to learn from Singapore, particularly on running the National Data Centre and the high-performance computing and AI centre.

According to him, many Vietnamese officials have studied in Singapore through scholarship programmes, and the lessons have proved highly practical as Việt Nam streamlines its political system to improve effectiveness and efficiency.

He wished for stronger exchanges and cooperation with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy to help Việt Nam develop training systems, curricula and teaching staff, and sharpen officials’ ability to apply classroom knowledge to real situations.

Li, in reply, welcomed the issues raised and progress on high-level agreements, saying that both sides still have much work to do to translate the strategic direction into concrete results.

The two discussed AI development and application with a people-centred approach, viewing AI as a tool to support citizens and improve public service delivery rather than replace humans. They also shared academic and practical experience in deploying AI to jointly refine application models suited to actual needs.

According to Ngọc, AI development and application is a continuous process requiring constant updating, learning and innovation. To ensure AI is used effectively, safely and in line with the right direction, it is necessary to establish basic regulations, procedures and principles as a foundation for officials to gradually adopt AI, driving upgrading, innovation and development on the back of its technology. VNA/VNS