Chairing the first meeting of the National Steering Committee on Data, which he heads, the prime minister said fragmented databases, weak connectivity and inconsistent standards were preventing Vietnam from fully unlocking the value of data.
The meeting was held in a hybrid format, linking central authorities with provinces and cities nationwide. Deputy Prime Ministers Nguyen Hoa Binh, Nguyen Chi Dung and Pham Thi Thanh Tra, who serve as deputy heads of the committee, also attended.
Leaders from ministries and sectors reported difficulties in building and integrating 12 key national databases under Plan No. 02-KH/BCĐTW and 105 databases outlined in Resolution No. 71/NQ-CP. Discussions also covered the integration of these databases into administrative procedure information systems at ministerial and provincial levels, as well as feedback on the committee’s draft 2026 work plan.
Prime Minister Chinh said the meeting was significant in unifying awareness, vision and action in national data development and exploitation. He underlined that without databases, artificial intelligence cannot develop, and that even with data, value cannot be created without connectivity and sharing.
To meet high economic growth targets, Vietnam must accelerate the digital, green and circular economies, with particular emphasis on the data economy and artificial intelligence, he said. Ministries, sectors and localities were urged to proactively build their own databases while ensuring interoperability and shared use.
While acknowledging recent progress, the prime minister pointed to persistent shortcomings, including legal frameworks lagging behind reality, non-standardized data, weak connectivity, insufficient data center infrastructure, shortages of high-quality human resources and inadequate cybersecurity.
He called for an end to fragmented investments and disparate technologies, urging unified standards and regulations, stronger data connectivity and sharing, and the parallel development of a data market with effective risk control. Leaders, he said, must take greater responsibility for implementation.
The prime minister directed that the national data system must be accurate, complete, clean, live, unified and shared, with barriers to connectivity removed. He stressed the need to balance open data with personal data protection and national security, to end the practice of each agency using its own technology, and to develop a data exchange model that promotes growth while managing risks.
He also called for a strategy to build autonomous artificial intelligence reflecting Vietnamese identity and knowledge, including the collection and effective use of Vietnamese-language data in culture, arts, history, geography and law. Obstacles related to computing infrastructure and energy supply for data centers, he said, must be resolved promptly.
