The Spirit of Resolution 57: Continuation from Decree 10

At the Conference, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung said that recently, General Secretary To Lam, on behalf of the Politburo, signed and issued Resolution 57, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam People's Army, December 22, 2024.

The Minister emphasized that this is a particularly important thematic Resolution on Breakthrough in the development of science, technology, innovation and digital transformation, with many revolutionary viewpoints, tasks and solutions, similar to Resolution 10 for agriculture 40 years ago, but this time for science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation. From a lack of science, technology, innovation and digital transformation, we will move towards sufficient, surplus, export and large-scale export of science, technology, innovation and digital transformation, just like we did with agriculture. Resolution 10 is to escape poverty, Resolution 57 is to escape the middle-income trap. Resolution 10 is to liberate labor, Resolution 57 is to liberate creativity. The general spirit of both Resolution 10 and Resolution 57 is to manage by objectives, regardless of how things are done, to give autonomy and responsibility to workers, and for workers to benefit from the fruits of their labor and creativity.

Three pillars: Innovation, Science, Technology and Digital Transformation

Resolution 57 clearly stated: The trio of science, technology, innovation and digital transformation are the decisive factors for a country's development. In which, innovation plays a driving role, transforming knowledge and tools into ideas and solutions. Science and technology are the foundation, creating knowledge and tools. Digital transformation is the realization of ideas and solutions into products and services, creating economic value.

Minister Nguyen Manh Hung emphasized that this is the first time the trio of science, technology, innovation and digital transformation have come together in a Resolution. It is this connection that creates "community". If our country wants to rise up in the new era, it must connect these three. This is a prerequisite for Vietnam to be rich, strong and prosperous.

The Minister commented that Vietnam's digital transformation over the past 5 years has made great strides, developing rapidly at a rate among the fastest in Southeast Asia and Asia. However, there are still some shortcomings and problems. Legal institutions, mechanisms, and policies on science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation have not met requirements. Specifically, regulations on bidding and public procurement are still "bottlenecks", and regulations need to be revised to ensure the selection of good products and partners, contributing to promoting the country's development. At the same time, basic strategic technologies such as AI, Blockchain, cloud, etc. are still lacking. Digital infrastructure is good in some aspects, but not sustainable. Cybersecurity still has many challenges.

According to the Minister, Resolution 57 requires strong, strategic and revolutionary policies and decisions. thereby creating breakthrough results for science, technology, innovation and digital transformation towards the goal of Vietnam achieving double-digit growth and becoming a developed country.

The Minister analyzed that revolutionary decisions mean changing the approach and perspective, for example, instead of setting low goals, set high goals. When we change the perspective, the high goals are achieved, but if we keep the old perspective, the low goals cannot be realized.

In addition, setting high or very high goals for each task in the action program helps to discover talents and reveal the talent of the leader. Because setting high goals forces leaders to find breakthrough solutions.

Guiding views in Resolution 57

Resolution 57 identifies the trio of science, technology, innovation and digital transformation as the main driving force for developing modern productive forces, perfecting production relations and innovating national governance methods. These three pillars help improve labor productivity and promote the country's development in the new era.

Science, technology, innovation and digital transformation are profound and comprehensive revolutions in all fields. Revolution means fast speed, destructive nature, abandoning the old, creating new ways of doing things.

An important guiding viewpoint in the Resolution is: Institutions, human resources, infrastructure, data and strategic technology are the core and central contents. Accordingly, institutions are the prerequisite, one step ahead, keeping up with and creating development, promoting innovation, eliminating the mindset of "if you can't manage, ban it". Resolution 57 emphasizes that management must keep up with development and must create.

The Minister analyzed that in the past, we rarely emphasized "mastering technology", but now in a period of strong technology development, if we develop based on science, technology, and digital transformation without mastering technology, it is very dangerous.

To master strategic technology, we must attract talent, so the Resolution emphasized the need for special policies for talent. Talent is a core factor in every stage of development. There must be preferential policies to recruit talent to work in the state management sector, in enterprises, in institutes and universities. We can learn from Australia's experience in recruiting and using talent in state agencies. State agencies can hire talent to serve projects, proposals or draft policy mechanisms, do breakthrough work, without having to recruit for regular work.

To master technology, one must walk with both feet and have the resources to master technology. Make in Vietnam is the spirit of mastering technology, researching in Vietnam, creating in Vietnam, and producing in Vietnam, contributing to helping Vietnam escape the middle-income trap and realizing the aspiration of a strong and prosperous Vietnam.

Institutional breakthroughs and enhanced international cooperation

Regarding the tasks and solutions stated in Resolution 57, the Minister emphasized the spirit of self-reliance, self-confidence, self-reliance, national pride, promoting Vietnamese intelligence, successfully implementing the goals and tasks of developing science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation. Only with these "self" words can our country become a dragon, a tiger, and a developed country, the Minister noted.

The Minister also raised the issue that many countries are currently undergoing digital transformation too quickly, but they are afraid of risks, and therefore are reluctant to experiment. However, in the era of digital technology and AI, the country that dares to accept risks and experiments will win.

The Minister added that Resolution 57, for the first time, accepts risks in scientific research and business to promote innovation. Resolution 57 also proposes implementing pilot mechanisms (sandboxes) and venture capital funds to support digital technology enterprises in testing and development. There is a policy of exemption from liability for enterprises, organizations and individuals in cases where testing new technologies and new business models causes economic damage due to objective reasons.

Besides, Vietnam must strengthen international cooperation, especially with large technology corporations (Big Tech), to become a global human resource center for digital transformation and innovation.

Regarding personnel work, the Resolution clearly defines the responsibilities and important roles of leaders in digital transformation, science and technology development, and innovation. This is also the criterion for evaluating cadres and leaders in terms of task performance, emulation, and annual rewards.

At the end of the Conference, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung emphasized and pointed out that studying Resolution 57 means learning the spirit of the Resolution to apply to one's own daily work. Leaders of units under the Ministry can use Resolution 57 to change the way they manage their units and employees. When implementing work, they need to focus on the final results and not be afraid to pilot and try new things and new ways of doing things./.