Experts at the conference. — Photo courtesy of the UNDP

THỪA THIÊN-HUẾ — The ultimate goal of the national public service portal is to leave no one behind, putting the people and businesses at the centre, providing friendly online public services for the people regardless of time and administrative boundaries, a top official has said.

Mai Tiến Dũng, Minister of Office of Government and chair of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council for Administrative Procedures Reform, made the statement while attending a conference on Friday in Huế City, the central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế.

The conference was organised by the Office of the Government of Việt Nam and Huế People’s Committee in collaboration with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

The conference discussed e-public services for citizens through the national public service portal.  

The conference also aimed to increase the quality of e-public services through the sharing of experiences in connecting with the national public service portal from Thừa Thiên-Huế and collecting citizens’ feedback.

Speaking at the conference, Dũng said the national public service portal was also a channel to receive feedback and recommendations from people and businesses to help them join the Government in building institutions.

Seven months after its launch, the portal has integrated 750 online public services, including 359 services for people and 414 for businesses. It has seen 189,000 accounts registered, received more than 179,000 online documents on the national portal and responded to 16,600 phone inquiries. E-payment has been integrated with six ministries and 33 out of 63 provinces.

In her opening remarks, UNDP Resident Representative in Việt Nam Caitlin Wiesen highlighted four reasons for carrying out administrative procedures online, including safety, convenience, reduced carbon emissions and less opportunity for corruption. 

“Citizens' engagement is key, both for promoting e-governance and for improving its quality”, she said.

Robyn Mudie, Ambassador of Australia to Việt Nam, emphasised Australia’s strong partnership with Việt Nam supporting e-government.

“For the past few years, Australia has walked alongside Việt Nam in its e-governance journey, sharing lessons and experiences from both sides.  I’m impressed by how much Việt Nam has achieved and honoured to take another step on this path today,” she said. 

During the conference, ministries and agencies introduced online public services such as voluntary social insurance and extension of the validity of the health insurance cards for households and issuance of driving licence. — VNS