HO CHI MINH CITY: Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City has emerged as the nation’s central hub for integrating digital tools into all aspects of life, experts say.
Nguyen Thanh Hoa, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Digital Transformation Centre (HCMC-DXCentre) under the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, said: “Entering 2026, a new phase has officially begun with the National Party Congress, requiring accelerated, results-driven efforts.”
“Vietnam is on track to become a high middle-income country by 2030.
“To achieve this goal, we must maintain gross domestic product (GDP) growth of around 10% from now until 2035, and at least 7% for the next 10 consecutive years.”
In 2025, Vietnam’s GDP grew by 8.02%, with record highs in budget revenue and foreign investment.
This year also served as a pivotal period for legislative and policy development, laying the groundwork for the implementation phase in 2026.
Priorities in 2025 centred around digital transformation, administrative reform, and the two-tier government model.
A large number of legal documents related to science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation were issued, including several breakthrough policies aimed at removing institutional bottlenecks, such as Resolution 57 on breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation at the national level; Resolution 59 on international integration; Resolution 66 on policy reform; and Resolution 68 on developing the private sector.
Ho Chi Minh City has emerged as the nation’s central hub for integrating digital tools into all aspects of life.
In parallel, the HCMC-DXCentre has been tasked with overseeing digital transformation and cybersecurity, platforms, applications and, most importantly, data protection.
Additionally, the city established a Steering Committee for the Development of Science, Technology, Innovation, and Digital Transformation to foster regional growth, focusing on research commercialisation, infrastructure upgrades, and digital economy development.
The year 2026 is expected to deliver breakthroughs with initiatives such as establishing the second National Data Centre, an information security monitoring centre, and enhancing digital citizenship pillars through the Citizen Digital application.
Success can only be achieved through close collaboration between the public and private sectors.
“Digital Government is the top priority among the three pillars of digital transformation, as effective policymaking and implementation will drive the digital economy and digital society,” Hoa said. — Vietnam News/ANN
