Resolution No. 49/CP on the development of information technology in the country during the 1990s

RESOLUTION

On the development of information technology in our country during the 1990s

Information technology (IT) is a collection of scientific methods, modern technical means and tools, primarily computer and telecommunication technologies, aimed at organizing, exploiting, and effectively using abundant and potential information resources in all fields of human and social activities. IT directly serves to improve state management, enhance the efficiency of production, business, and other economic and social activities, thereby contributing to improving the quality of life for the people. IT develops on the foundation of the development of electronic, computing, telecommunication, and automation technologies.

This Resolution summarizes the situation of IT in our country, affirms the viewpoints, goals, and contents of IT development in our country until the year 2000, and proposes major measures to implement this important policy.

I- CURRENT SITUATION AND REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN OUR COUNTRY

1- After national reunification, the Council of Ministers issued two Resolutions (No. 173/CP-1975 and No. 245-CP/1976) on strengthening the application of mathematics and electronic computers in economic management and enhancing the management and use of electronic computers nationwide. Following the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the implementation of the policy of economic and social renovation required that economic and social activities have full, accurate, and timely information. The relatively easy importation of computers into the country created conditions for many facilities to be equipped with modern IT means. However, such development was mainly spontaneous, the technical basis was still individual computers or local networks, and the efficiency of computer use in various economic and social fields remained low.

2- Our country is currently basically still a backward information nation: a reliable information system has not yet been established and cannot promptly meet the management and operation needs of the state machinery from central to local levels; there is a lack of information both domestically and internationally for production, business, service, scientific research, and other social activities.

3- Our country's postal and telecommunications network, in addition to its capabilities in transmitting telephone, telegraph, and fax, now has the capability to transmit data, thus enabling the organization of computer information networks. However, these internal networks still need to be improved quickly in terms of both quality and capacity to build a national data transmission network and connect it to international networks.

4- Currently, the number of specialized staff working in the field of IT in our country is still small, and they have not been assigned and coordinated according to a unified goal to create a combined strength. Young cadres have not been supported and encouraged adequately to fully utilize their labor and creativity. Universities have only trained a few students in fields related to IT. Equipment and information for training purposes are still lacking. Nevertheless, due to the growing demand for computers, the popularization of computing in some large cities has been carried out quite actively in recent years.

Our country has only a few research and development bases related to IT, but due to the weak material and informational conditions of these bases, they have not had the ability to conduct deep research in line with modern IT directions. In recent years, some research groups have achieved encouraging results in developing certain application software and tool software.

5- The IT industry is an industry that produces hardware and software products of computers, computer services, telecommunications equipment, and telecommunications services. Although we have prioritized the development of electronic, computing, telecommunication, and automation technologies, it has not been sufficient to form an IT industry.

6- Our country has the potential and favorable conditions for IT development: The ongoing economic renovation is creating an urgent need for the application of IT and providing conditions for its development; the rapid technological changes in this field worldwide help us take advantage of and apply the latest achievements of this technology; we also have a large human resource potential of Vietnamese people living both inside and outside the country who can actively and creatively work in the field of IT.

The above situation requires our country to quickly develop IT in all fields of activity to enhance the quality and effectiveness of state management, production, business, and service activities, and further accelerate the comprehensive renovation process of the country.

II- GENERAL VIEWPOINTS AND DEVELOPMENT GOALS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN OUR COUNTRY

1- General viewpoints on the development of IT in our country:

a) IT development mainly relies on the absorption of technology from abroad. It is necessary to seize the opportunity to import the newest and most advanced technologies to shorten the huge technological gaps between our country and other countries and avoid the mistakes made by some countries during their development process. To master these new technologies, it is necessary to train and develop skilled labor forces, promote domestic research and development, and cooperate in research with foreign countries.

b) IT development in our country is based on the principle of "open systems." This viewpoint allows systems and products to adapt and operate according to the expanding and growth requirements of those systems. It is necessary to build systems based on selected standards that are consistent with the global trend of IT development and the requirements of IT application in the country.

c) IT development in our country mainly aims at applying to economic and social activities to enhance the quality and efficiency of management, production, business, and service activities. The application of IT must bring about profound improvements and innovations in economic and social fields, and IT must become a driving force to promote our renovation process.

2- The objectives for building and developing information technology in our country until the year 2000 are:

Establishing initial solid foundations for an information infrastructure capable of meeting basic information needs in state management and economic-social activities, while actively building the IT industry into one of the leading industries of the country, contributing to preparing our country's rightful position in the region when entering the 21st century.

By the end of the 1990s, we must achieve the following specific goals:

a) Building a system of interconnected computers and communication means within networks with powerful software tools and information systems and databases capable of serving state management activities and key economic activities. Some domestic information systems are connected to international information networks.

b) Widely developing the application of IT to contribute to increasing productivity, quality, and efficiency of production and business, gradually modernizing important production and service sectors and national defense security. Strengthening the application of IT in basic survey activities, natural resource exploration and environmental surveys, scientific research, and other activities.

c) Popularizing "information culture" in society to create a favorable environment for preparing towards an "information society";

d) Building a foundation for an IT industry that produces valuable IT products and services, prioritizing the development of the "software" industry, while utilizing technology transfer capabilities to appropriately develop modern IT component and equipment production facilities.

III- CONTENTS OF DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY UNTIL THE YEAR 2000
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO THE YEAR 2000

1- Information Technology Serving State Management

To provide comprehensive, accurate, and timely information to meet all requirements of the state apparatus in decision-making and state administration operations, improving the provision of information from the state to the economy and society and the people, contributing to improving the organization of the state apparatus and computerizing office-administrative work in state agencies, it is necessary to build and implement immediately some national-level IT projects.

National Administrative Information System,

Comprehensive Economic Information System,

Scientific and Technological Potential Information System, Resources and Environment.

It is necessary to quickly form a network of management information systems of Ministries, sectors, and localities according to a unified program so that they can be interconnected.

2- Information Technology in Economic and Social Activities

To facilitate the circulation of essential information for a market economy and create new dynamism in the economy, gradually modernizing production sectors, it is necessary to build and implement a project on the State Management Information System for finance, banking, markets, prices, and import-export. Encouraging and creating a favorable environment for businesses in all economic sectors to proactively organize and implement IT projects to modernize their business and service activities.

It is necessary to focus on implementing urgent contents regarding the application of IT as a factor in modernizing energy, transportation, postal sectors, and applying IT in modernizing and improving the quality of products in the production sector. Promptly organizing and implementing some IT projects in healthcare, population, culture.

3- Information Technology and Education, Training

Leveraging human resources and intelligence is a decisive factor for the success of IT development. It is necessary to quickly train a professional team in the field of IT,普及信息技术的普通教育，在中学阶段，同时在社会上广泛传播信息技术知识，并加强在教育和培训行业本身应用信息技术。

Early building and implementing the national project on information technology and education, training with the main contents as follows:

Actively researching and applying information technology in educational and training work.

Establish and gradually improve departments and majors in information technology at universities to train IT professionals, while taking advantage of all possible cooperation opportunities to open supplementary classes for professional-level IT knowledge.

Building and implementing plans for information technology education in the education and training system to ensure that all students from secondary school onwards will study information technology and practice using computers by the year 2000.

Developing all forms of training, disseminating knowledge, and equipping the ability to use computers as a labor tool for a part of the workforce in society.

4- Research on Information Technology

Research work on information technology in our country must aim to absorb modern knowledge and understand the trends in the development of this technology worldwide to:

Select appropriate technology transfer strategies for building the information technology infrastructure in our country,

Design and develop application software for information technology projects in state management and socio-economic fields,

Research and manufacture information technology products, especially software products, to serve the construction and development of the information technology industry domestically.

It is necessary to build the Institute of Information Technology in the National Center for Natural Sciences and Technology into a leading institute for research and implementation in the field of information technology;

Strengthening research work at universities and having incentives for establishing research and development institutions on information technology in various sectors and organizations belonging to different economic components.

5- Building the Information Technology Industry Foundation

Actively producing software to serve the domestic information technology application market, while aiming at export capabilities to gradually participate in the world market,

Take advantage of opportunities to build industrial production bases for hardware from low to high levels based on transferring foreign technology into Vietnam through various forms.

Special policies and measures are needed to quickly form software development centers, manufacturing enterprises producing equipment in the field of information technology, and strengthen networks of sufficient computer services to meet domestic market needs. These production and service facilities need to be encouraged to develop across all economic sectors and joint ventures with foreign countries.

6- Computer and Telecommunications Infrastructure

According to the "open system" viewpoint, the structure of information-computer systems must be based on certain standards (both hardware and software) to be integrated into the national network and able to connect with international networks, therefore it is necessary:

Study an architecture for information-computer systems suitable for Vietnam's conditions according to appropriate standards,

Urgently build a national data transmission network capable of transmitting data between information processing centers throughout the country, thereby forming information-computer networks for key areas, while promoting research to organize public data transmission systems and specialized networks in the future, connecting domestic information networks with regional and international information-telecommunication networks. The national data transmission network must have sufficient transmission speed and capacity according to current international network data transmission standards and procedures.

IV- MAJOR POLICIES AND MEASURES TO
PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

1- Create sources of information and standardize information generated in society.

In implementing IT application projects, the most important content is building information systems and databases. The Government Office shall take the lead in coordinating with the General Statistics Office, the State Planning Commission, the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment to promptly issue standardization regulations for types of information for the most important state management and administrative activities. Based on these standardized information regulations, ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, government agencies, provincial people's committees under the central government shall study and issue information standards in their own information systems serving management. Forms and reporting systems for transmitting information must be improved and supplemented according to the requirements of IT applications. The implementation of mandatory information systems is institutionalized into legal regulations.

2- Standardization for imported equipment in the field of information technology

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Heavy Industry, the General Post Office Administration, and the Ministry of Trade to establish standards for computer equipment requirements, imported software tools, and communication devices. These standards must be respected when importing equipment and software from state budget sources and from other non-state budget sources. Standardization should not create unreasonable constraints but is necessary to facilitate equipment warranty, cooperation, mutual support, improve product and service efficiency, increase accessibility, and thus enhance the effectiveness of domestically produced application software.

3- Exchange and protection of information

The exchange and protection of information must be conducted in accordance with the country's open economic policy. The Ministry of Culture and Information shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Justice to study and promulgate policies on information exchange and protection based on the principle that all economic components are equal before the law regarding the right to information and information exchange both domestically and with foreign economic entities for their business activities; international information exchanges must comply with international practices and current laws of the country; the ownership and confidentiality of personal and organizational economic and social information will also be institutionalized through legislation.

4- Technology transfer and international cooperation

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shall detail the Ordinance on the transfer of foreign technology into Vietnam in the field of IT development; take the lead and coordinate with the State Planning Commission, the Ministry of Heavy Industry, and the General Post Office Administration to develop an international cooperation program for IT development, including the establishment of foreign loan projects for IT development.

The Ministry of Education and Training shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment to develop plans for training personnel abroad for IT development, including scholarship policies for students studying abroad, internships, and research in fields and levels that we have not yet trained.

The State Planning Commission shall be responsible for allocating a significant portion of international aid programs, especially ODA programs, to projects related to training, research and development, and IT application.

5- Utilizing foreign experts and consultants and Vietnamese experts and consultants abroad.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shall coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training, and the Central Overseas Vietnamese Committee to develop policies encouraging the invitation of foreign experts and overseas Vietnamese experts to serve as advisors or participate in implementing IT application projects, education and training programs, scientific research, and plans for building foundations for the IT industry.

6- Supporting and mobilizing capital for information technology development

It is necessary to mobilize many capabilities and capital sources for the construction and development of IT. In the initial stage, the state will provide investment capital for major programs and projects. In subsequent years, more and more other capital sources will be mobilized, particularly from production and business organizations belonging to different economic sectors. The State Planning Commission shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, the State Committee for Cooperation and Investment, and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment to develop policies and plans to support and mobilize capital for IT development according to the following principles:

The state will invest and not recover funds allocated for implementing plans to incorporate IT into state management and national defense security, education and training plans, and the dissemination of IT knowledge, and partially for scientific research and implementation.

The state will organize business and investment to build the infrastructure of IT such as computing-telecommunication infrastructure, industrial IT infrastructure. The state will invest to build initial facilities to attract foreign investment in high-tech zones, including IT. The state will also directly invest or jointly venture with foreign partners to build and organize the deployment of some national information processing centers.

Encourage various economic sectors to independently invest in applying IT to business activities, production, and services.

The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead and coordinate with the State Planning Commission, the State Bank of Vietnam, the Ministry of Trade, and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment to study and promulgate policies and systems to encourage various economic sectors to increasingly participate in IT construction, development, and application.

7- Preferential treatment in the use of telecommunications means for scientific and educational activities

The General Post Office Administration shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment to study and promulgate low postal fee systems for using telecommunications means to exchange information during scientific research and educational activities.

8- Protection of intellectual property rights and copyright

To strengthen the exchange of software products, improve the efficiency of research and development activities, and service activities in IT, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shall coordinate with the Ministry of Culture and Information to detail the implementation of the Ordinance on the transfer of foreign technology into Vietnam, the Ordinance on the protection of intellectual property rights, and other regulatory documents issued by the state for the IT sector. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shall study and submit to the Government proposals for participation in international agreements related to technology transfer and intellectual property rights in the IT sector.

V. IMPLEMENTATION

1- The Government assigns the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment to take the lead and coordinate with the State Planning Commission, the Ministers of relevant Ministries, and other related agencies to develop the National Program on IT. This program will consolidate activities aimed at implementing the contents outlined in Parts III and IV of this Resolution.

2- The Minister of Science, Technology and Environment shall take the lead and direct the implementation of the National Program on IT. Relevant agencies: the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, the State Planning Commission, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministries of Finance, Heavy Industry, Energy, the State Bank of Vietnam, the General Statistics Office, the General Post Office Administration, the National Center for Natural Sciences and Technology, and the National Center for Social Sciences and Humanities, shall have the responsibility to appoint dedicated representatives to regularly participate in the work of the Program.

3 - The State Planning Commission, together with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, shall propose the allocation of funds from the state budget annually and from foreign aid sources (including ODA) for the implementation of the National ICT Program to be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval.

4 - The Minister of Science, Technology and Environment shall be responsible for guiding and urging ministries, sectors, and localities to implement this Resolution. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government agencies, and Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees under the central government shall be responsible for enforcing this Resolution.

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of agencies under the Government, Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities are responsible for enforcing this Resolution./.