General Secretary To Lam: Data is the "blood" of the digital economy

Attending the Congress were General Secretary To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and other Party and State leaders.

The congress gathered 200 official delegates, representing nearly 400 members, organizations and individuals participating in the association.

The National Data Association was established with the mission of connecting regulatory agencies, businesses, organizations and individuals operating in the data field.

The Association aims to build a strong data ecosystem, contributing to promoting digital economic development and increasing data value in the national economy.

General Secretary and Party and State leaders attending the Congress (Photo: Organizing Committee).

Through the Congress Resolution with high consensus from members, General Luong Tam Quang, Minister of Public Security, was elected to hold the position of Chairman of the National Data Association.

Data is an important resource and means of production.

General Secretary To Lam gave a speech at the congress (Photo: Organizing Committee).

Speaking at the congress, General Secretary To Lam emphasized the importance of data in the digital age.

"We are living in the digital age, where data has become an important resource, means of production, a new "oil", even the "blood" of the digital economy. Digital transformation, with data at the center, is fundamentally changing the way we live, work and develop.

Our Party and State have recognized the importance of data early on. Resolution No. 52-NQ/TW dated September 27, 2019 of the Politburo on a number of guidelines and policies to proactively participate in the fourth industrial revolution has proposed the policy 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 clearly identified: data is the center of digital transformation, an important driving force for development. The Resolution also proposed pilot policies, creating an initial legal corridor for promoting data development and exploitation," the General Secretary said.

The General Secretary frankly assessed that data management and exploitation in Vietnam still has many shortcomings, such as inadequate awareness of the role of data, scattered data infrastructure, lack of connectivity; lack of high-quality human resources in data; incomplete legal framework, especially in areas such as data security, privacy protection and personal data; data security and safety still have many challenges.

"In particular, we need to clearly understand that data governance is not only a policy issue, but also a technology issue. Without technology, we cannot collect, store, process, analyze and share data effectively and securely. Vietnam has made many efforts to apply advanced technologies in data governance, especially in the fields of e-Government and digital transformation.

Platforms such as the national population database and digital database of online public services have significantly improved data exploitation and management. However, services and data currently applying new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data analysis or blockchain technology are still at the experimental level and lack clear development orientation and management regulations," the General Secretary said.

According to the General Secretary, in that context, the establishment of the National Data Association is of utmost importance. The General Secretary believes that the Association will be an "extended arm" of the Party and State, a "pioneer" in implementing Resolution 57, making Vietnam a digital nation, developing based on data.

7 key tasks of the Association

The General Secretary requested the Association to focus on 7 key tasks (Photo: Organizing Committee).

At the Congress, the General Secretary proposed that the Association focus on 7 key tasks:

Firstly, it is proposed to complete the legal corridor on data, creating conditions for data to circulate, connect, share and be exploited to the maximum, while still ensuring security, safety and data sovereignty.

Second, promote the core role in building, developing, exploiting and enriching national data, attaching importance to protecting the four main pillars: people, location, activities and products.

Third, proactively and actively apply, master, and move towards autonomy in core data technologies, especially artificial intelligence (AI), big data, blockchain, and comprehensive data assurance.

Fourth, support the promotion of the construction of advanced data infrastructure, including data centers invested by the State and private enterprises.

Fifth, strengthen international cooperation, learn from experience, attract resources, and participate in global data initiatives.

Sixth, build an effective enforcement and monitoring mechanism. State agencies, with the leading role of the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and a number of relevant ministries and branches, need to have a tighter and more synchronous monitoring system based on the strong application of digital technology to ensure that legal regulations are fully complied with.

Seven, data security, build data security system, build product protection standard system, data security, form data security industry.

Speaking at the Congress, General Luong Tam Quang - Chairman of the National Data Association shared: "The General Secretary pointed out the importance and decisive role of data in the new era, the era of rising up, developing prosperity and prosperity of the nation, and at the same time, directed 07 issues that the National Data Association needs to focus on implementing in the coming time".

General Luong Tam Quang - Chairman of the National Data Association shared at the Congress (Photo: Organizing Committee).

According to the General, these are very important tasks in building and perfecting the legal corridor; developing four main data pillars; enhancing application, moving towards autonomy of core data technologies, building a national blockchain platform, deploying national applications on decentralized identification, building a national data and cryptocurrency exchange; building a high-performance computing center, training a large Vietnamese language model, developing a national virtual assistant; building an advanced and modern data infrastructure.

Contribute to creating the premise to bring the country into the new digital age

The First Congress of the National Data Association was a great success (Photo: Organizing Committee).

The Chairman of the National Data Association emphasized that the association will be a bridge between businesses, building a diverse and stable data ecosystem, meeting the requirements of sustainable digital transformation in all fields, creating a premise to bring the country into the new digital era.

During its first term, the association will focus on key activities such as coordinating with relevant authorities, associations and organizations to promote and disseminate national policies and laws on data.

In addition, the association will contribute opinions to relevant legal documents and make recommendations and consult competent state agencies on issues related to the development of the data industry.

The Association will assist the authorities when requested with a clear mission, goals and direction.

The launch of the National Data Association promises to gather and protect the legitimate rights of members, promote the sharing of knowledge, experience, and application of scientific and technological achievements in the data field; actively contribute to the national digital transformation process, market development, and data economy.

This event is of great significance, marking a step towards organizational consolidation and orienting activities for the next 5 years, while affirming the association's pioneering role in implementing Resolution No. 57 of the Politburo on breakthroughs in science and technology development, innovation and national digital transformation.