(VOVworld) – With the theme “National Core Infrastructure”, the 2012 Vietnam Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Summit opened today/Tuesday in Hanoi. The delegates discussed strategies and solutions to upgrade and modernize the nation’s infrastructure by applying information technology.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan spoke at the event. Photo: internet

On speaking at the summit, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan stated that information and communications technology is one of Vietnam’s spearhead industries and is the foundation for building a modern and industrliazed country. Last year, the sector’s total revenue reached nearly 21 billion USD, equalling 17% of GDP. Vietnam is also listed among the 10 most attractive software processing countries in the world and Vietnam’s e-government system ranks 4^th in Southeast Asia. Mr. Nhan said: "It’s very important for us to design training programs for managers in IT We need to do more research to determine what percentage of our cadres in different sectors need 2 certificates: one professional certificate and one IT certificate. In the long-run, it will be neccesary for each ministry to have its own specialist IT division."
The president of the Gloabl IT alliance, Doctor Dan E Khoo, gave a presentation on Malaysia’s experiences and vision to the participants at the summit. The Vietnamese Prime Minister’s envoy, former Minister of Trade Truong Dinh Tuyen presented a report to the summit entitled “IT and national modernization”, stressing the importance of digital services, high-speed connections, and fully integration IT across the country. Later, the delegates discussed 4 topics in groups: reducing traffic congestion using IT, IT and educational reforms, smart urban development, and electronic ID cards for Vietnamese citizens.