Amending the High-Tech Law will help develop strategic technologies.

Amending the High-Tech Law to institutionalize the spirit of Resolution 57 will create a transparent, stable, and attractive legal framework for investment, production, and business activities in high technology.

Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthroughs in science and technology development, innovation, and digital transformation has clearly outlined the direction for developing high technology in conjunction with the industrialization and modernization of the country.

The resolution calls for improving the legal and policy system to create favorable conditions for research, development, application, and transfer of high technology.

The High-Tech Law, enacted by the National Assembly in 2008, is the first and only law regulating high technology in Vietnam. However, many of its provisions are outdated, inconsistent with specialized laws, unenforceable, or no longer relevant to current practices.

Meanwhile, the legal system regarding science , technology, and innovation is undergoing comprehensive reform, guided by Resolution 57, requiring amendments to this Law to ensure consistency, uniformity, and create a legal foundation for development.

Amend the High-Tech Law to institutionalize the spirit of the Resolution, thereby creating a transparent, stable, and attractive legal framework for investment, production, and business activities in the high-tech sector.

Creating a legal framework for strategic technologies.

The draft Law on High Technology (amended) consists of 6 chapters and 27 articles, a reduction of 8 articles, and changes in structure and form compared to the current Law. It comprises 6 main policy groups: perfecting the concept and criteria of high technology; redesigning the system of policies and beneficiaries of priority, preferential, and investment support policies; encouraging the development of the high-tech ecosystem; supplementing regulations on models of high-tech zones and high-tech cities; supplementing and perfecting regulations on state management of high technology, management, inspection, supervision and evaluation mechanisms; and supplementing regulations on the requirements for comprehensive digital transformation of high-tech activities.

The draft Law on High Technology (amended) also adds a separate chapter on strategic technology development, regulating research, testing, application, commercialization, transfer, and attracting and developing high-quality human resources. Along with this, the draft stipulates comprehensive digital transformation of high-tech activities, including data digitization, infrastructure, and related policies to operate on digital platforms and intelligent governance systems. Notably, the draft adds regulations on the development of high-tech cities, which are areas with high-tech zones as their core, planned and invested in with synchronized technical and social infrastructure, and modern governance mechanisms to ensure modern, sustainable living, working, and creative conditions for the development of a high-tech ecosystem.

Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung stated that the draft Law on High Technology (amended) creates a favorable legal framework for the development of high technology, especially strategic technology; perfects policies that consider high technology and strategic technology as one of the strategic breakthroughs for socio-economic development and technological self-reliance of Vietnam; and perfects preferential policies and support mechanisms associated with efficiency and flexibility in supporting new generation high-tech zones. The perspective in drafting the Law is to concretize the Party's guidelines, making high technology and strategic technology one of the main driving forces for national development.

The draft Law closely follows national strategic technology trends and practical requirements to create an effective legal framework; learns from international experience in developing high-tech policies, applying them appropriately to Vietnam's conditions; retains effective provisions of current laws, and makes new adjustments and additions to ensure the stability and up-to-date nature of the legal system; has a clear and logical structure, is easy to apply, and enhances management efficiency.

Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung. (Photo: Doan Tan/VNA)

Minister Nguyen Manh Hung analyzed that the draft Law on High Technology (amended) identifies the types of technologies and technological products that need to be prioritized for development. High technology is not only a field prioritized for investment, but also a strategic pillar of the economy, national defense, security, and national competitiveness; high technology is also a matter of national sovereignty.

"This represents a shift in the Party's perception. Vietnam has announced a list of 11 strategic technology groups that Vietnam must master. This is also a declaration of Vietnam's technological self-reliance and self-strength," Minister Nguyen Manh Hung shared.

Affirming that the amended High-Tech Law aims to institutionalize the above viewpoints, the Minister stated that the draft has categorized high technologies, strategic technologies, and core technologies for management and development. The mechanisms and policies for high technology in the current law will continue to be maintained and further incentives will be added if FDI increases the localization rate of technology transfer and conducts research and development activities in Vietnam.

"The High-Tech Law (amended) will also develop special policies to strongly promote strategic technological autonomy, such as direct assignment of tasks, specific mechanisms for decoding and purchasing technological know-how, establishing special testing zones for strategic technologies, and special procurement of strategic technologies and strategic products," Minister Nguyen Manh Hung said.

Steps to concretize Resolution 57

In a more in-depth assessment of the draft Law on High Technology, Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Hai Quan, Permanent Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, stated that amending the Law on High Technology is not only to address limitations but also to concretize the major policies of the Party and State, especially Resolution 57-NQ/TW. The amendments will also create a transparent, stable, and attractive legal framework for investment, production, and business activities in the high-tech sector, while simultaneously enhancing endogenous technological capabilities and aiming for global competitiveness.

After more than 16 years of implementation, the High-Tech Law has revealed many shortcomings, highlighting the urgent need for amendment. Currently, the number of domestic high-tech enterprises remains small, and Vietnam has not yet mastered the fundamental technologies in key sectors.

Meanwhile, while foreign businesses invest heavily, the technological content remains low, mainly focusing on processing and licensing; there are no sufficiently strong policies to encourage Vietnamese businesses to participate deeply in the supply chain. The operational efficiency of high-tech parks is limited. For example, the Hoa Lac High-Tech Park faces obstacles in transportation infrastructure, hindering connectivity, research, and application development.

Although key laboratories have been established at universities, they lack a sustainable operating mechanism due to very high maintenance and development costs, especially in the long term. Furthermore, the lack of consistency in the legal system is also a major obstacle. The current High-Tech Law is conflicting and overlapping with many other laws such as the Planning Law, the Bidding Law, and the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets, slowing down the implementation and development process.

Commenting on the draft Law on High Technology (amended), National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh assessed that the draft has identified a list of strategic technologies that are breakthrough and fundamental to national defense and security, and has stimulated the role of the private sector. At the same time, the draft has built a comprehensive high-tech ecosystem, linking the public and private sectors, domestically and internationally. However, it needs superior policies regarding human resources, prioritizing the use of experts, scientists, and Vietnamese people abroad, and considering them as national assets.

Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh also requested clarification of policy tools, resources, and coordination mechanisms to ensure feasibility and effectiveness in organizing the implementation of administrative procedure simplification, strengthening post-inspection mechanisms, and attracting investment resources for high-tech development outside the state budget.

Regarding policies on strategic technology research and development, National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh suggested that the draft Law should include provisions on allocating a percentage of the State budget to strategic technology research and development activities, avoiding overlap with the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation.

Applying high technology in agriculture. (Photo: VNA)

According to Nguyen Dinh Xuan, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Tay Ninh province, the amended High-Tech Law has many advantages compared to the current law; it creates a clearer legal framework for high-tech zones; and it includes additional tax and land incentives, providing a foundation for human resource development. However, the amended law needs to clarify the concept of high-tech products, clearly define the percentage of high-tech product value, and include mechanisms for international recognition to facilitate export and trade competitiveness.

The draft Law on High Technology (amended) is expected to be considered and passed at the 10th session of the 15th National Assembly, thereby creating a modern and comprehensive legal framework, becoming an important driving force to promote technological self-reliance, enhance national competitiveness, and realize the development goals set out in Resolution 57.

(VNA/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/sua-doi-luat-cong-nghe-cao-giup-phat-trien-cong-nghe-chien-luoc-post1078927.vnp