Vietnam to develop IT into key sector

Asian Economic News, Oct 23, 2000

HANOI, Oct. 19 Kyodo

The policy-making Political Bureau of the Vietnamese Communist Party plans to develop the information technology (IT) industry as a ''spearhead'' to boost economic growth, official media reported Thursday.

By 2010, the IT industry in Vietnam must develop into an advanced level for the region, and become one of the most important factors in the country's social and economic development as well as security and national defense, the party daily Nhan Dan quoted from a Bureau instruction issued Tuesday.

By the goal year, the rate of Internet users in the country must have become equal to the world average, the instruction also said, adding the services must be made cheaper and of higher quality.

To achieve the goals, Vietnam will promote the use of IT in all activities in economic, cultural, social, security and defense, it said.

The bureau instructed the government to intensify the training and the utilization of human resources in the field, while changing its state management over the industry to encourage development.