Vietnam's Top Leadership Demands Tangible Results in Science, Technology, and Digital Transformation

Vietnamese President and General Secretary To Lam has strongly emphasized the need for tangible, measurable results in implementing Resolution 57 concerning science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation. During a meeting of the Central Steering Committee for Science, Technology, Innovation, and Digital Transformation on July 30, he stressed that "what is said must be done, what is committed must yield results, and what is identified as a key strategic task must be pursued to the end." President Lam called for a shift from managing progress to effective management. He instructed that each task must clearly define the problem to be solved, the final product, the end-user, the responsible agency and individual, the implementation conditions, and evaluation criteria. A task will only be considered complete when its product is put into use and generates measurable, verifiable results. For new, unprecedented tasks, he advocated for controlled experimentation, stating, "We must not refrain from doing something because it is difficult, but we must not scale it up without proving its effectiveness." He identified the primary goal and most important measure of Resolution 57 in its new phase as fundamentally transforming simple labor into creative labor, linked to improving the quality of the national workforce. He envisioned farmers becoming "digital farmers" mastering modern agricultural technology, workers mastering advanced technology and equipment, entrepreneurs becoming the vanguard of innovation, and officials shifting from a management mindset to one of development creation. "Creative labor must become the nation's most important resource in the future," he declared. President Lam further directed the concentration of resources to form competitive products, markets, and enterprises. He stated that all research tasks must aim for application, commercialization, and enhanced competitiveness of the economy and society. Resources should be prioritized for foundational, strategic tasks with high spillover potential and clear end-users, overcoming the issue of scattered investments that fail to produce strong products and capabilities. He called for enterprises to participate from problem definition, research, and testing to product commercialization. The state should focus on creating institutions, placing orders, sharing risks, and establishing initial markets for technological products. Research institutes and universities must be more closely linked to national development needs and enterprise demands, evaluated by their technology, products, and actual value creation. He added that every citizen can become an innovator, every enterprise must consider innovation a condition for survival and development, and every official must adopt a development-creating mindset. Each ministry, sector, and locality should become an innovation hub in its field, contributing to building a learning society and spreading a culture of innovation. He reiterated the need to promote the transition from simple labor to creative labor, relying more on knowledge and technology across society, ensuring that "resolutions do not stop at slogans or emulation movements." At the meeting, the Politburo's decision to reconfigure the Central Steering Committee with 31 members was announced. Prime Minister Le Minh Hung was appointed Chairman, with Standing Secretary of the Secretariat Tran Cam Tu and others serving as Vice Chairmen.