An online seminar on sharing e-Government experience  was held by Việt Nam Government Office and the Embassy of Japan in Việt Nam on Friday in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Phương Hoa

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese Government Office and the Embassy of Japan in Việt Nam on Friday hosted an online seminar entitled 'Sharing Experience and New Policies of Japan to Promote e-Government, towards Digital Government' in Hà Nội.

The event, chaired by Minister, Chairman of the Vietnamese Government Office Mai Tiến Dũng and Japanese Ambassador to Việt Nam Takio Yamada, brought together experts from Japan and 23 cities and provinces in Việt Nam.

Addressing the seminar, Dũng said it was the third event of its kind and formed part of Japan’s activities to support Việt Nam in building e-government. He said in the context of social distancing measures due to COVID-19, the use of information technology (IT), artificial intelligence (AI), and digital technologies would be crucial to sustaining a functioning economy.

Việt Nam had developed a number of e-government information and database systems which had not only promoted a new way of working at governmental units but also facilitated the delivery of online public services to businesses and people, he said.

These systems had allowed society to save up to about VNĐ9.8 trillion, or US$426 million, in expenditure annually, the minister said.

He added that such success would not be possible without the help of the government of Japan through the Japanese Embassy in Việt Nam, Japan’s Cabinet Office and Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

E-government development must ensure a close connection between IT application, public administrative reforms and improvement in transparency and publicity, he said, adding that the satisfaction of people and businesses was a key factor to measure the e-government building.

Ambassador Yamada, for his part, highlighted the significance of e-government and digital government amid the pandemic, saying the use of digital technologies at many administrative bodies in Việt Nam enabled the delivery of a variety of online public services with added values and no direct contact.

He said he was impressed by the Vietnamese Government's proactive response to the pandemic with the quick rollout of the contact-tracing app NCOVI.

E-government is also one of the top priorities of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, according to the diplomat. He said that the Japanese government would continue adopting more co-operation programmes to assist Việt Nam’s reforms.

During the seminar, specialists from Japan discussed Suga’s new policies in developing digital government and shared experience in digitalising public services as well as formulating policies for the application of AI. — VNS