Promoting cooperation on digital transformation, AI and supporting business innovation

On July 17, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Duc Long had a working session with Mr. Doron Avni, Vice President of Google in charge of emerging markets, to promote extensive cooperation in the fields of digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI) application, and support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to innovate.

At the beginning of the meeting, Mr. Doron Avni expressed his impression of Vietnam's strategic vision and determination for digital transformation, as demonstrated in Resolution 57-NQ/TW. Mr. Avni also shared some typical projects that Google has implemented, including the AI training program for 55,000 UAE government officials, the "Green Light" project in Bangkok to optimize traffic signals using Google Maps data, or the personalized AIeducation program for students in more than 100 schools in Thailand. In addition, Google also actively provides consulting support to many countries to perfect institutions related to AI and cloud computing.

Through the sharing of Deputy Minister Pham Duc Long, Mr. Doron Avni highly appreciated the specific proposals from the Ministry of Science and Technology and affirmed that Google is ready to cooperate more deeply in the above mentioned areas. Google has currently implemented many basic AI training programs for Vietnamese businesses and people and plans to increase support for scholarships and exchange programs for Vietnamese scientists .

On the side of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Deputy Minister Pham Duc Long emphasized the key role of science, technology, innovation (ST) and digital transformation (DT) in the process of national development. Vietnam is making efforts to implement Resolution 57-NQ/TW of the Party Central Committee and Resolution 71/NQ-CP of the Government to turn Vietnam into a developed, high-income country by 2045, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the country's founding.

In the past 6 months, the Ministry of Science and Technology has developed and submitted to the National Assembly a series of important legal documents to amend in order to remove barriers and promote the strong development of the fields of science, technology and digital transformation. Notably, the Law on Digital Technology Industry has just been passed by the National Assembly, along with many other specialized laws such as the Law on Technical Standards and Regulations, the Law on Product and Goods Quality, and the Law on Atomic Energy. The Ministry is also drafting the Law on Digital Transformation to submit to the National Assembly later this year.

The Deputy Minister emphasized Vietnam's pioneering role in implementing the sandbox mechanism, a flexible legal testing framework that allows ministries, sectors, and localities to proactively approve and implement innovation initiatives. The Deputy Minister said Vietnam is concretizing the General Secretary's direction that institutions must become national competitive advantages.

Vietnam is developing a National Strategy on AI with the goal of popularizing AI knowledge and skills to all classes of people, not only officials and civil servants but also citizens and businesses. The Prime Minister proposed that Google accompany the Ministry of Science and Technology to implement an AI skills training program, as well as support technological solutions such as Green Light to solve the problem of traffic congestion in large cities.

Another important content in the working program is the direction of cooperation between the Ministry of Science and Technology and Google in researching and developing quantum technology, as well as supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in digital transformation on the AI platform, a platform considered the core of an innovative economy.

The Ministry of Science and Technology is developing a large-scale AI popularization program to help businesses apply technology to improve competitiveness and innovate business models. "Without AI, we cannot talk about digital transformation. And truly innovative businesses will be the driving force for Vietnam's economic growth in the coming time," Deputy Minister Pham Duc Long affirmed.

At the end of the meeting, the two sides agreed to establish a joint working group to concretize cooperation plans, aiming for practical, effective actions that are consistent with the long-term development strategies of both sides. This is the time for the Ministry of Science and Technology and Google to act together for a future of innovation, creativity and sustainable digitalization.