8:56:43 AM | 12/30/2025
The new Digital Government Development Program, approved by the Vietnamese government on December 1, 2025, is designed to develop inclusive, wide-reaching digital services based on the principle of placing citizens and businesses at the center as the primary stakeholders and co-creators of digital services. The program aims to establish a user-centric ecosystem of unified services in which no one is left behind.
AI will enhance public administration, policy-making, and service delivery
Delivering inclusive, smart digital services
The program sets a shared goal that by 2030, Vietnam will complete the development of a digital government and establish a smart government operating on big data and artificial intelligence, aiming for a proactive, predictive, and user-centric governance model. Core operations of state agencies will be conducted on centralized, unified, and interconnected digital platforms across sectors and administrative levels, creating a modern, synchronized digital ecosystem. Simultaneously, the program ensures cybersecurity, protection of personal data, and the safeguarding of national digital sovereignty. AI will serve as a key tool in public administration, delivering public services and supporting policy decision-making, enhancing operational efficiency and improving the experience for citizens and businesses.
Specifically, in the 2025-2027 period, 100% of eligible online public services will be fully implemented; 100% of information, documents, and materials related to administrative procedures for production and business activities will only need to be submitted once to state administrative agencies; and 95% of citizens and businesses are expected to be satisfied with online public services.
In the 2028-2030 period, 99% of citizens and businesses are expected to be satisfied with online public services; 50% of essential online public services will be implemented proactively, with AI providing personalized support, notifications, or action suggestions based on major life events; 100% of state agencies will provide open data according to standards; 100% of administrative procedure records and results will be digitized; and 80% of digitized information and data in administrative procedures and public services will be exploited and reused.
According to the Investment and Trade Working Group of the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF), Vietnam has demonstrated strong determination and effort in promoting e-Government. Technology, especially cloud computing, can become an effective tool to streamline administrative procedures, automate processes, and provide innovative self-service options. Cloud computing also facilitates better coordination and information exchange among government agencies.
However, although some procedures, such as business registration, can now be completed online, many processes related to foreign investment still require in-person submission and paper documents. These procedures include investment registration, M&A approvals, foreign loan registration, representative office establishment, and retail business licenses for foreign investors. In practice, foreign investors must prepare and submit multiple legalized copies of the same document for a single transaction. Moreover, local agencies apply varying validity periods for legalized and notarized documents, ranging from 3 to 6 months depending on interpretation, due to a lack of clear regulations. Preparing many legalized copies of one document is costly and time-consuming.
According to the Investment and Trade Working Group (VBF), these obstacles can be addressed by modernizing investment procedures through enhanced online portals and electronic submission: providing platforms where multiple administrative procedures and records can be completed online, making processes faster and more convenient.
“Implementing the proposed changes will help Vietnam build a more attractive and convenient legal framework for foreign investment, contributing to sustainable economic development and creating mutual benefits for both foreign investors and the Vietnamese economy,” the Investment and Trade Working Group emphasized.
Establishing at least three national data center clusters
To achieve its objectives, the Digital Government Development Program outlines nine key tasks and solutions: improving the legal framework; developing digital data; creating applications and digital platforms for the digital government; building digital government infrastructure; ensuring cybersecurity; developing digital human resources; promoting international cooperation; securing funding; and monitoring, supervising, and evaluating implementation.
Regarding digital data development, the program emphasizes data digitization and reuse to reduce and simplify administrative procedures, focusing on justice, education, health, and land management. It targets 100% digitization of administrative procedure records and results, the completion, upgrading, and expansion of national and sector-specific databases, and the development and publication of plans for open data disclosure at the national level and within each ministry, sector, and locality.
In terms of digital government infrastructure, the program will build and develop digital infrastructure to support the digital government, including storage and computing infrastructure that meets international and green standards. Large-scale green-standard data center clusters will be developed, connected, and shared to form a network of clusters to promote the big data industry, including the establishment of at least three national data center clusters as required.
A national data center and a unified, high-performance cloud platform will be built to provide centralized computing, storage, and backup resources while ensuring cybersecurity, information confidentiality, and maximum data safety for the information systems of ministries, sectors, localities, and the entire political system. Network infrastructure will also be developed to meet the needs of digital government deployment across ministries, sectors, and localities.
Regarding digital human resource development, the program will create and provide learning materials to train and disseminate digital skills and guide citizens in using digital services of state agencies through community-based digital literacy platforms.
By Anh Mai, Vietnam Business Forum
Vietnamese
