ADB: Vietnam has the opportunity to make a breakthrough in green transformation and digitalization

According to Mr. Scott Morris, Vietnam's economy continues to grow impressively, even faster than many countries in the region - Photo: VGP/Quang Thuong

As the world enters the era of green transformation and digitalization, Vietnam is standing on the threshold of turning-point opportunities, while also facing significant challenges. Determined to realize the National Strategy on Green Growth for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050 , Vietnam is striving to create a sustainable, inclusive and adaptive economic development model.

As one of Vietnam’s strategic development partners, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been closely accompanying Vietnam in many key areas. On the occasion of Vietnam hosting the 4th Partnership for Green Growth and the Global Goals (P4G) Summit in Hanoi, Mr. Scott Morris, ADB Vice President , shared with the Government E-newspaper about Vietnam’s potential for innovation and digital transformation in the journey towards a green, inclusive and sustainable economy.

According to Mr. Scott Morris, Vietnam’s economy continues to grow impressively, even faster than many countries in the region. This is an important foundation to pursue ambitious goals in digital transformation and energy. However, the large-scale deployment of new technology, especially in the field of green energy, still faces many challenges from costs, deployment capacity to policy framework.

“ Energy transition is a key factor in building a stable and sustainable energy system, thereby promoting economic growth. New technologies are contributing to changing the cost equation, but to be effective, Vietnam needs a strong enough policy environment to support startups, support small and medium enterprises, especially developing high-quality human resources,” said Mr. Morris.

Mr. Scott Morris emphasized that growth cannot be considered successful if a part of the population is left behind - Photo: VGP/Quang Thuong

According to him, Vietnam's educational achievements are remarkable, but it is important to transform these achievements into practical professional skills - especially in cutting-edge technology fields such as artificial intelligence (AI).

At the same time, Mr. Scott Morris emphasized that a sustainable economy cannot lack social equity . “Growth cannot be considered successful if some people are left behind. Investments must be clearly targeted, targeting vulnerable communities, small businesses, women and girls to ensure that every sector of the economy has opportunities to develop.”

He also said that ADB is implementing a parallel cooperation model between the public and private sectors. With the public sector, ADB supports policy reforms to pave the way for investment; with the private sector, ADB directly invests in potential businesses and sectors, aiming to spread the effect to the whole economy. The long-term goal is to promote the development of the private sector, especially in the field of clean energy, to help Vietnam gradually eliminate polluting energy sources and shift to more efficient and sustainable solutions.

With the potential that is unfolding, Vietnam is at a critical juncture for action. Realizing green growth and inclusive development goals cannot rely on commitments alone, but requires a substantive, synchronous policy ecosystem that can encourage the private sector to participate in shaping the future.

Policymakers need to continue to promote institutional reforms, invest in green infrastructure, transfer technology, and provide attractive incentives and guarantees to attract private capital. At the same time, new skills training programs for the workforce are needed to ensure that no one is left behind in the transition.

With the support of development organizations such as ADB, Vietnam has every basis to become a model of green growth not only in the region but also globally.

Hoang Thu Trang

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/adb-viet-nam-co-co-hoi-but-pha-trong-chuyen-doi-xanh-va-so-hoa-102250415103940623.htm