The first National Congress of the National Data Association opened in Hanoi on March 22. The event is of great significance, marking the step of perfecting the organisation, orienting activities in the next five years, and affirming the pioneering role of the Association in implementing Resolution No.57-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthroughs in science and technology development, innovation and national digital transformation.
General Secretary To Lam attended and delivered a speech to direct the Congress.
Attending the Congress were Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh; Politburo members, Party Central Committee Secretaries: Nguyen Duy Ngoc, Chairman of the PCC’s Inspection Commission; Phan Dinh Trac, Head of the PCC’s Commission for Internal Affairs; General Luong Tam Quang, Politburo member, Minister of Public Security; Nguyen Thi Thanh, Party Central Committee member, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly; Party Central Committee members, representatives of leaders of central and local ministries, departments and branches; 200 official delegates, representing nearly 400 members who are organisations and individuals participating in the Association.
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Party General Secretary To Lam speaks at the Congress. |
Speaking at the congress, Party General Secretary To Lam affirmed Vietnam is entering the dawn of the digital age, a period when data has become an important resource and means of production, a new energy, even the “blood” of the digital economy. Digital transformation, with data at the centre, is fundamentally changing the way we live, work and develop.
The General Secretary emphasised that the Party and State have recognised the importance of data early on. Resolution No.52-NQ/TW dated September 27, 2019, of the Politburo on several policies and strategies to proactively participate in the fourth industrial revolution has proposed the guideline of proactively participating in regional and global legal frameworks to develop the digital economy; perfecting laws and policies on data and data governance, facilitating the creation, connection, sharing and exploitation of data to ensure safety and security of domestic networks, moving towards connecting with the ASEAN region and internationally.
Most recently, Resolution No.57-NQ/TW dated December 22, 2024, of the Politburo identified: that data is the centre of digital transformation, an important driving force for development. The Resolution also proposed pilot policies, creating an initial legal corridor for promoting the development and exploitation of data.
General Secretary To Lam pointed out that data governance and exploitation in Vietnam still have many shortcomings with insufficient awareness of the role of data; data infrastructure is still scattered and unconnected; lack of high-quality human resources for data; incomplete legal framework, especially in areas such as data security, privacy protection and personal data; data security and safety still face many challenges.
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General Secretary To Lam and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh take a souvenir photo with the delegates. |
Platforms such as the national population database, data sharing mechanisms and online public services have significantly improved data exploitation and management. However, regulations on data protection when applying new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data analysis or blockchain technology are still at the experimental level and lack a clear and transparent development orientation and management regulations.
In that context, establishing the National Data Association is of great significance. The General Secretary believes that the Association will be a common home for “digital knights”, a “pioneer” in implementing Resolution No.57 and resolutions on science and technology, soon turning Vietnam into a digital nation, with a digital governance platform, digital economy, digital society, developing based on “correct, sufficient, clean, and live” data.
Emphasising the Association’s role in several key programmes and initiatives, the General Secretary pointed out that Vietnam must develop a data market for development, deploy a data platform to serve research, start-up development, and innovation, and provide data-related products and services to serve socio-economic development.
It is necessary to build a national open AI platform to help businesses easily access AI applications; and quickly popularise understanding of data for all people to raise awareness, knowledge and skills about data for the whole society, especially about the value and importance of protecting personal data, as well as compliance with legal regulations; organise data-based innovation challenges early; encourage the community to come up with innovative data-based solutions; and create playgrounds to maximise human potential in the field of science and technology.
