On the morning of 15/11, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a meeting of the Government Steering Committee for Science, Technology, Innovation, Digital Transformation, and Project 06. During the meeting, he directed the State Bank of Vietnam and commercial banks to decisively implement a 500 trillion dong credit program. This program aims to promote the development of strategic infrastructure and digital technology. The State Bank of Vietnam is responsible for reviewing conditions, criteria, and controlling the cash flow to ensure it aligns with the program's objectives.

To secure funding from both the state budget and investment sources, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology are tasked with proposing appropriate financial mechanisms and ensuring sufficient capital allocation. Priority areas for this funding include: national data centers, data platforms, national key laboratories, research centers, strategic technology development projects, and critical databases.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks on the morning of 15/11. Photo: Nhat Bac

The Ministry of Science and Technology is assigned to promptly submit two key projects: one supporting the global expansion of digital technology enterprises, and another for investing in the capacity of public research and development organizations. Furthermore, the Ministry will urge network providers to achieve nationwide 5G coverage. It will also resolve issues related to the Starlink project to enable its deployment in 2026, with a target of 500,000 subscribers.

The Ministry of Justice is tasked with comprehensively reviewing the current state of online public service provision, as well as the development and management of databases. Concurrently, the Ministry of Public Security will develop utilities on VNeID to support elections for National Assembly deputies and People's Councils at all levels. It will also accelerate the operational deployment of National Data Center 1 and propose the construction of a second data center.

The Ministry of Construction, in collaboration with local authorities, is assigned to develop smart city projects in six centrally-governed cities. They will also create a smart border gate model to combat smuggling and trade fraud.

The Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Education and Training to develop lifelong learning records, integrated with the database for managing degrees and certificates. All degrees and certificates are to be digitized by Q1/2026. Furthermore, nationwide electronic health records will be developed, ensuring interoperability between hospitals.

The head of government recounted an experience in Thanh Hoa where a parent had to travel 19 km to a commune headquarters to obtain a birth certificate for their university student child, which then needed to be sent to Hanoi. This occurred despite authorities having instructed citizens to use the VNeID application, which contains comprehensive personal data, including birth information. Consequently, the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of enhancing public knowledge and digital skills. He also stressed the need to "decisively cut" unnecessary administrative procedures that citizens are still required to complete.

Vu Tuan