Vietnamese Government Inspector General Lê Minh Khái (r) meets with Alexander Anikin, Deputy Head of the Anti-Corruption Department of the Russian President, in Hà Nội on Feb 18.— VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese Government Inspector General Lê Minh Khái held talks with Alexander Anikin, Deputy Head of the Anti-Corruption Department of the Russian President, in Hà Nội on Feb 18.

At the reception, Khái said after the Vietnamese Government Inspectorate and the Russian anti-corruption department signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on co-operation in combating corruption in 2014, the two sides have exchanged information to deal with challenges in the fight against corruption.

Both sides recognise the importance of increasing bilateral collaboration, particularly in training personnel and developing joint works between anti-corruption agencies their localities, he said.

The two sides agreed to start negotiations for the upgrade of the MoU, Khái added, expressing his hope they will soon sign the revised pact.

Echoing Khái’s view, Anikin believed the above-said co-operation activities will strengthen ties between the two agencies and deepen the Việt Nam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership.

He expected that the two agencies will boost bilateral cooperation and exchange experience in the fight against corruption.

At the later talks, the two sides discussed issues of common concern, particularly those related to the revision of their 2014 MoU.

Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hoà Bình received Anikin the same day, affirming Việt Nam sees anti-corruption as an important task and one of the country’s top priorities in building a professional, modern and effective administration.

The Vietnamese Government encouraged and would create favourable conditions for the two agencies to continue enhancing their anti-corruption co-operation, he said.

Anikin said he was glad to know Việt Nam applied Russia’s experience in anti-corruption tasks and believed the fine relations between the two countries would help facilitate anti-corruption ties between the two agencies.

E-government building                                               

Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tiến Dũng had a working session with a delegation of Russian experts and firms in Hà Nội yesterday to discuss building an e-government and ensuring the safety of cyber information.

The delegation, led by Russian Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Mikhail Mamonov, is on a working visit to Việt Nam from February 18-20.

Dũng said during a visit to Russia in December 2018, Minister Dũng and the Russian Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Konstantin Noskov signed a MoU on co-operation in building e-government.

According to Dũng, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc established the National Committee on E-Government and assigned the Government Office to work with the Ministry of Information and Communications, ministries, agencies and localities to build a resolution on tasks and measures to develop e-government.

Accordingly, Việt Nam will focus on the four pillars of human resources, regulations, technology and resources. From 2019-2020, the country will launch platforms on data sharing, as well as put into operation the national public services portal towards building smart urban areas.

The Vietnamese Government pays attention to improving cyber attack prevention and enhancing Vietnamese firms’ capacity in this field, he said.

Mamonov, for his part, spoke highly of Việt Nam’s goal of boasting a high e-government development index. He said Russia wants to work with Việt Nam in personnel training in information technology and cyber security.

Ngô Hải Phan, deputy head of the Government Office’s Administrative Procedure Control Agency, said Việt Nam ranked 88th out of the 193 countries and territories in terms of 2018 e-government development index by the United Nations. Of which, it was 59th out of 193 on the public services index, 100th out of 193 in telecommunications infrastructure and 120th out of 193 in human resources.

Between 2019 and 2025, Việt Nam looks towards improving the operation efficiency of state administrative apparatus and services quality for businesses and people, increasing the UN’s e-government rankings by 10-15 places by 2020, and become listed in the top four ASEAN countries in the rankings, he said.

At the session, the Russian delegation introduced the strengths of a national platform in processing dispersed data. — VNS