The Government leader chaired a meeting on February 12, between the National Committee on e-Government and the steering boards for e-Government and e-administration building of ministries, sectors and localities.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the meeting.

PM Phuc, who is also chairman of the National Committee on e-Government, praised the initial results achieved in building e-Government, saying that it had shortened time and reduced costs for people and enterprises. The rate of online public services provided at level 4 doubled, from 4.55 per cent in 2018 to 10.76 per cent last year.

All ministries, sectors and localities have connected with the national e-document exchange platform. The services of birth registration at commune level and health insurance card application at district level have been conducted for the first time, he said.

Vietnamese businesses have announced they could manage cyber security and a safe eco-system, which is recorded as an important step in ensuring cyber security and safety for the e-Government, he said.

PM Phuc cited statistics in which Viet Nam ranked 88th among 193 countries and sixth in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to urge ministries, sectors and localities to strive forward.

He asked them to accomplish mechanisms to pave the way for a legal framework. In 2020, the ministries and sectors must issue decrees on data management, connection and sharing; online identification and verification; applying administrative procedures online and personal information protection and prepare to amend laws on e-transactions and archives.

PM Phuc highlighted three targets that Viet Nam must strive for; all ministries, sectors and localities to have integrated data sharing platforms; all ministerial and provincial platforms connected with the national platform and all ministries, localities to have cyber security and safety steering and supervising centres.

The PM assigned the Ministry of Information and Communications to co-ordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and Ministry of Finance to propose using a part of the public telecommunication fund to run e-Government’s foundation-sharing projects and report it to the Government for submission to the National Assembly Standing Committee in the first quarter of 2020.

Phuc asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to include e-Government training in the curriculum of the National Academy of Public Administration. The ministries, sectors and localities annually allocate a proportion of the e-Government budget for training.

He also called on Vietnamese digital technology enterprises to actively participate in the development of e-Government, considering this a dual goal which aims to boost Viet Nam's e-Government and gain experience to develop overseas.

The Ministry of Information and Communications needs to build a foundation so that every citizen and business can access all e-Government services through only one mobile application./.