Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh: Science and technology make Vietnam a developed country

VTV.vn - During a 60-minute dialogue at the Autumn Economic Forum, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh shared about Vietnam's vision and role and strategy for green and digital transformation.

On the afternoon of November 26, at the Autumn Economic Forum 2025, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a 60-minute dialogue with Mr. Stephan Mergenthaler, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The discussion revolved around the topics of vision 2045; Vietnam's resilience in a volatile world; the role of ASEAN; promoting the green-digital dual transformation and preparing human resources for the future, and the importance of dialogue at the World Economic Forum.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Mr. Stephan Mergenthaler, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the 60-minute dialogue program. Photo: Pham Bang

Opening the dialogue session, the Managing Director of the World Economic Forum (WEF) asked about the vision of turning Vietnam into a high-income country by 2045. "If we were to look back from 2045, what would be the most important decisions that the Vietnamese Government must make today to stay on that trajectory?"

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh shared that people often look to the past to look to the future. We must not forget the past, but must draw lessons for the future."

The Prime Minister said that many countries that were once enemies have now become friends and partners, demonstrating the spirit of peace, cooperation and mutual development that Vietnam pursues.

Looking back on the development journey, Vietnam has transformed from a poor, backward country into a country with enough food, thanks to agricultural development to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty, thanks to industry to become a developing country with average income.

"If GDP growth reaches over 8% this year, the size of Vietnam's economy will reach 510 billion USD, with per capita income over 5,000 USD, approaching the upper middle income level," said the Prime Minister.

He affirmed that developing science and technology will be the key driving force to turn Vietnam into a high-income country. "The goal of becoming a developed country by 2045 is challenging, but it is necessary because it is the path to national development, for the happiness and prosperity of the people," the Prime Minister emphasized.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the Autumn Economic Forum. Photo by Pham Bang

Returning from the recent G20 Summit in Africa, the Prime Minister assessed that the world is in a period of political polarization, economic separation and institutional fragmentation. Global growth has not yet recovered after the Covid-19 pandemic, increasing trade protectionism has broken the supply chain, affecting production, business and people's lives.

In addition, non-traditional security challenges such as extreme natural disasters, population aging, cyber security, and the development of AI affecting employment continue to increase pressure on all countries. In particular, Vietnam is suffering record natural consequences in 2025. However, in that context, we are not pessimistic. The Prime Minister said that in difficulties, we can still see opportunities and advantages. The more pressure people are under, the more effort they have to make. The head of the Government commented that although the world is polarized and fragmented, peace and cooperation are still the main trend of the times. In particular, science, technology and innovation are the new driving force, the thread that runs through, limiting the difficulties the world is facing. In addition, the connection between economies in economic development is also a positive signal.

Sharing about Vietnam, the Prime Minister commented that Vietnam is going against the world. In the context of slowing world growth, Vietnam's is increasing. World public debt is increasing but Vietnam's is slowing down. "About 5 years ago, Vietnam's public debt was about 56% of GDP, this year it is only 36%, the size of the economy is increasing, political security is stable, and Vietnam's prestige is increasing," he said.

The Prime Minister pointed out five factors that helped Vietnam overcome difficulties: the Party's leadership, for the goal of independence, freedom and happiness of the people; the strength of the people and businesses; the strength of national solidarity; the combination of national strength with the strength of the times and the persistence in the path of independence and self-reliance, building a self-reliant economy, and firmly pursuing the goal of socialism.

Sharing about the national strategy for green and digital transformation, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that green and digital transformation are two parallel aspects of the same process. To make the transformation successful, it is necessary to raise awareness and turn awareness into action with specific and feasible solutions.

He emphasized the role of institutions in leading and paving the way for this process. "The current institutions still have many bottlenecks. We must turn institutions into national competitive advantages," said the Prime Minister.

For the transformation to be successful, Vietnam must simultaneously develop infrastructure, human resources and smart governance capacity; have a mechanism to mobilize social resources with the State playing a leading role, the private sector as the most important driving force, and public-private partnership implemented closely and effectively.

With external resources, Vietnam will continue to attract indirect investment, ODA, and preferential loans, while harmonizing domestic and international institutions, enhancing the transfer of advanced technology, and cooperation in training high-quality human resources between businesses and educational institutions.

The Prime Minister said that the Government is implementing three strategic breakthroughs: Institutional breakthroughs to create competitive momentum and reduce input costs; Strategic infrastructure breakthroughs to help reduce logistics costs and improve global competitiveness; High-quality human resource breakthroughs, putting people at the center of all development policies.

Faced with this strategy, the Director of the World Economic Forum WEF questioned the preparation of the workforce for the future of Vietnam.

The Prime Minister said the country's transformation must go hand in hand with the transformation of each individual. "In every direction, we take people, especially the young generation, as the center," he said.

The government is creating mechanisms for young people to pioneer green and digital transformation, through policies to support startups, tax and interest rate incentives, and training in new skills, helping them "go straight into the green and digital transformation process".

At the same time, the Government also encourages cooperation and connection between Vietnamese youth and international friends, to learn and share experiences from both successes and failures.

"We create space for the young generation to freely create and devote themselves to the country, leaving no one behind," the Prime Minister affirmed.

Source: https://vtv.vn/thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-khoa-hoc-cong-nghe-dua-viet-nam-thanh-quoc-gia-phat-trien-100251126184641273.htm