HÀ NỘI — Digital government is becoming common in countries in the world, as industries increasingly rely on Government databases to promote growth and socio-economic development.

That was the message heard by attendees of a workshop on open data and digital government readiness held on Tuesday by the Government Office in co-operation with the World Bank in Hà Nội.

Speaking at the workshop, Minister and Government Office Chief Mai Tiến Dũng said that the application of IT in State operations is becoming a top priority of Vietnamese Government.

In 2018, the Government Office will focus on deploying IT applications in ministries and localities in order to improve the management capacity of the State agencies, enhance the responsibility of officials and create publicity and transparency, Dũng said.

The Government has also set up software on solving letters of denunciation, centres for online public services and data integration, he added.

In order to achieve its objectives, the Government must encourage enterprises to invest in IT, the minister said.

Alla Morrison, representative of the World Bank, said that digital technology has offered great opportunities, but also posed challenges. Thus, the Government plays an important role in creating a favourable environment for the new economy that helps the private sector to innovate and provide new digital products and services in order to improve the lives of people and facilitate business operations and public services.

Governments, in addition to providing convenient and effective services, were also responsible for ensuring equal access to the Internet and competition in the market, protecting the privacy of citizens as well as consumer rights. This was the foundation for a digital creative government, she said.

Minister Dũng also said that the development of digital government and open data was the next step in E-Government and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0). He also said that the biggest difficulty facing the Vietnamese Government is the need to build a database.

He hoped the World Bank’s working group would suggest recommendations and support Việt Nam to successfully establish digital government and open data.

The minister also requested the ministries, sectors and localities to co-operate with the WB’s working groups during the process of survey and evaluation. — VNS