On the morning of November 28, in Hanoi, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung had a meeting and worked with the newly appointed Heads of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad in 2024.

PSX_20241128_111342.jpg
Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet at the meeting. Photo: Le Anh Dung

Attending the event were leaders of the Departments and Bureaus under the Ministry of Information and Communications and representatives of the business groups Viettel, VNPT, MobiFone, FPT and CMC. The delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Ambassador of Vietnam to the United Nations, Do Hung Viet.

At the reception, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet, on behalf of the Heads of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad for the 2025-2028 term, informed that the 2024 appointment period has a total of 26 comrades, including 20 ambassadors and 6 consuls general, representing Vietnam in 46 countries and 01 international organization.

Promoting “digital diplomacy”

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said that Vietnam needs to proactively participate in solving global problems, thereby demonstrating global responsibility to the international community. In particular, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung emphasized: "Current global problems are mainly solved by digital technology", such as population aging, climate change, narrowing the gap between rich and poor, etc.

The Ministry of Information and Communications has signed ministerial-level digital cooperation agreements with a number of partners and plans to promote these agreements to the national level, replacing the usual memorandums of understanding (MoUs).

PSX_20241128_113738.jpg
Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung chaired a working session with heads of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad. Photo: Le Anh Dung

Also at the meeting, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung asked the newly appointed ambassadors and consuls general to continue supporting Vietnamese technology enterprises to go abroad, seek investment opportunities, connect and develop, and attract foreign technology talents to serve the development of the country in general and enterprises in particular.

According to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet, recently, the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have closely coordinated in implementing foreign information, as well as digital transformation, especially digital diplomacy - technology diplomacy is considered an important content for the newly appointed chief representatives to deploy in the coming time, thereby practically contributing to the common achievements of the Country, Party and Government.

In addition, within the framework of the United Nations, the current trend is to build institutions and regulations on technology governance (artificial intelligence, digital transformation, etc.), so it is necessary to have the active participation of Vietnamese enterprises and specialized agencies of the Ministry of Information and Communications in this process to shape international laws, "ensuring the best interests of enterprises and the country".

Mastering digital technology, attracting international talent

According to Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung, to avoid the risk of becoming a product transit point, attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) into Vietnam today must be associated with high technology transfer and bringing the supporting industrial production chain to Vietnam, thereby increasing the domestic value content in goods.

The head of the Ministry of Information and Communications shared that Vietnamese digital technology enterprises going abroad is a must, if they do not want to be conquered. In addition, they also have the need to master digital technology; this leads to a wave of acquisitions and opening representative offices abroad.

“Vietnam needs to go abroad with its own strength. Digital transformation without mastering digital technology will put the country in a 'dangerous' situation,” said the Minister of Information and Communications. Accordingly, digital talent is the only way to master digital technology. Currently, the remuneration of Vietnamese technology companies is not inferior to that of international enterprises, so it is recommended that heads of representative offices increase information for overseas Vietnamese and partners to attract high-quality technology human resources to work in Vietnam.

Regarding promoting Vietnam's image abroad, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung reaffirmed the new position and aspirations of the Country and people, setting new international responsibilities.

“Vietnam needs to share its stories with the world, contributing to solving global problems.” Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung suggested that Vietnamese representatives abroad actively “order” the Ministry of Information and Communications for content, images, cooperation promotion programs… and on the other hand, absorb international knowledge to spread domestically.

The leaders of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the contents shared at the working session are useful provisions for the newly appointed ambassadors and consuls general to successfully complete their tasks during their three-year term, affirming that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Information and Communications will continue to closely coordinate and share orientations in related fields.

Minister Nguyen Manh Hung: Digital transformation is two separate and clear stories . Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung believes that digital transformation is two separate and clear stories. That is the story of technology and the story of transformation.