Deputy Prime Minister Hồ Quốc Dũng speaks at the meeting of the Government’s working group on the development of science, technology, innovation and strategic technologies in Hà Nội on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Diệp Trương

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Hồ Quốc Dũng on Wednesday urged ministries and sectors to develop specific technological products by the end of the year to address strategic development tasks while emphasising the Ministry of Science and Technology’s responsibility in guiding this process.

He set the goals while chairing a meeting of the Government’s working group on the development of science, technology, innovation and strategic technologies in Hà Nội, which reviewed the implementation progress of technology development tasks assigned to ministries and central-level State agencies by the Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng in Decision 808.

The decision, issued on May 6, outlines 20 tasks that need technological solutions, spanning the fields of agriculture, trade, healthcare, construction, education, national defence, transport, space technology and finance.

The science ministry was assigned to lead the solution development and implementation.

According to the ministry’s reports, by this month, it has appraised 27 out of 28 solutions proposed by concerned ministries and agencies, with a total proposed budget of about VNĐ5.3 trillion (US$203 million).

Deputy PM Dũng pointed out that although the legal framework and resources for these solutions have largely been prepared, some agencies have not shown sufficient determination in their execution.

For the nine solutions that have passed appraisal and meet approval criteria, he urged leaders of ministries and agencies to finalise their approvals by August 31 and report to the Party Central Committee and the Government.

For the 13 projects undergoing appraisal, the science ministry must aim to finalise its appraisal reports before August 28.

These projects should be approved by early September to bring the total projects ready for implementation to 21, Dũng urged.

"This will serve as the foundation for ministries and sectors to proceed with the next steps," he said.

Regarding the five solutions deemed ineligible for approval by the appraisal committee, the Government leader asked their respective ministries to consider them ministerial-level crucial tasks and continue research and refinement.

He added that in addition to its appraisal responsibility, the science ministry must also expedite the issuance of guiding circulars for these projects and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to secure funding for their implementation.

The ministry must continue to review, appraise and guide ministries and sectors to run the approved solutions, regularly identify new ones for consideration, and periodically report the progress to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers, Dũng said.

It must always review proposed solutions carefully to avoid duplication and wasting resources, by identifying components that can be shared or replicated between cities and provinces, he added.

Provincial People's Committees must select and finalise solutions they aim to implement, in accordance with the science ministry’s guidelines, and report back in September.

“Priority should be given to projects that leverage each area’s specific potential and advantages, aiming for specific products to be developed by the end of the year,” the Deputy PM said.

Leaders of the State Bank of Vietnam must also urgently review and finalise the proposals for its registered solutions and submit them to the science ministry before August 31.

Reports by the science ministry also indicated that these 28 proposed solutions are only addressing 11 out of the 20 major tasks assigned by Decision 808.

Among the remaining nine tasks, five have yet to receive proposals for solutions from ministries or sectors, which are agricultural product traceability, smart trade and logistics, personalised medicine and 3D-printed medical devices, autonomous national artificial intelligence (AI) capability, and next-generation mobile network infrastructure and fifth-generation (5G) ecosystems.

Deputy PM Dũng asked ministries and sectors to continue study, research solutions for these tasks and submit their findings in September.

"We must not avoid addressing strategic tasks that have already been identified," he said. — VNS