THE PRIME MINISTER

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To approve the master plan on the application and development of information technologies (ITs) in Vietnam till 2005, with the following principal contents:

I. OBJECTIVES

By 2005 the IT application and development in Vietnam shall achieve the following basic characteristics and targets:

1. The national average level and effectiveness of IT application shall reach the average level of the regional countries; IT application in the activities of the agencies of the Party and the State, socio-political organizations and spearhead economic branches that play the leading role in the national economy at the central level, in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh cities shall be on par with the level of the advanced countries in the region.

2. To develop telecommunication and Internet networks with modern technologies and ever-growing traffic capacity, high speed and quality, which can provide the society and consumers with diversified services at prices equal to the average ones of the regional countries. By 2005 all provinces and cities nationwide shall be inter-connected by optical fiber cables, and the percentage of Internet users shall reach 4-5% of the total population. .

3. The IT industry shall grow at an average annual rate of 20-25%, supporting the development of important branches, contributing to securing a high and sustainable growth rate of the economy.

4. To train more 50,000 IT experts at different levels, of whom 25,000 shall be high-level experts and professional programmers who are proficient in foreign languages necessary for ITs.

II. PRINCIPAL CONTENTS OF THE PLAN

1. Stepping up of the IT application in priority domains

a/ In essential social and economic domains with a view to contributing to raising the competitiveness of the economy as well as of enterprises; and serving the agricultural industrialization and modernization and rural development.

b/ In security and defense.

c/ In State administrative services and other social services. In activities of the Party�s and the State�s agencies.

d/ Building and putting into operation a number of electronic information systems, step by step creating the national information infrastructure, then striving for a uniform national information system.

2. Development of national telecommunication and Internet networks

To develop advanced and modern telecommunication and Internet networks operating efficiently, safely and reliably across the country. To form a national superhighway with large capacity and high speed. To provide broadband access services from door to door: optical fiber cables, broadband television, satellite communication, etc. To develop exclusive communication networks.

To speed up the universalization of Internet in economic, cultural and social activities, to create conditions for customers to have access to and log on the good-quality Internet at prices equal to the average level in regional countries.

To develop the Internet for application of diversified online and IT services such as electronic press, electronic commerce, electronic administration, online post, telecommunications, finance, banking, education, training, health� in service of the national industrialization and modernization.

To open the market and permit many more Internet exchange providers (IXP), Internet service providers (ISP) and online service providers (OSP) to enter and compete on an equal footing so as to raise efficiency and promote the development of the market.

By 2005 the number of Internet users shall rise at least 10 times over 2000, attaining the target of 1.3-1.5 subscribers per 100 persons. The percentage of Internet users shall reach 4-5% of the total population. To create basic conditions so that by 2010 the percentage of Internet users in Vietnam shall reach the region�s average.

In 2002 and 2003 all research institutes, universities, colleges and intermediate job-training schools shall be connected to the Internet. By 2005 fifty percent of the number of general education schools nationwide, all hospitals at the central level and over 50% of the provincial-level hospitals shall be connected to the Internet.

By 2005 the information networks of all ministries, branches, administrative agencies of the central State apparatus, the provincial- and district-level administrations shall be connected to the Government�s wide-area network and the Internet. Most of officials and public employees at the above-mentioned units shall be able to use online applications in service of their professional work; to use the Internet in service of the electronic public administration.

3. Building of the IT industry

a/ The software industry

To build the software industry into a spearhead economic branch growing at an average annual rate of 30-35%. To encourage the formation of investment funds in different economic sectors, including the foreign-invested one, so as to attract investment capital for the development of the software industry. To encourage the formation of software industrial parks of different sizes and adopt preferential policies towards the development thereof. The State shall directly invest USD 50-70 million in support of the projects on developing human resources, markets and products.

By 2005 to attain a total output of USD 500 million, of which about USD 200 million coming from exports. To attract between 25,000 and 30,000 experts and professional programmers who are proficient in foreign languages into the software industry.

b/ The hardware industry

To quickly develop the hardware industry in the computer and communication domain.

To ensure that computers and communication equipment manufactured or assembled in the country be of high quality, meeting around 80% of domestic demands, be competitive in terms of prices on the world and regional markets and, as a result, be exportable.

To step up the manufacture of communication and information-processing equipment, especially those for connection with computer networks.

To adopt special policies to attract foreign investment as well as mobilize domestic investment capital sources for the development of the hardware industry, in particular to attract leading multinational companies in the IT sector to invest and transfer technologies into Vietnam.

4. Development of human resources

To raise the quality of IT training in the existing education and training system through raising the professional levels of teachers and lecturers; to update modern textbooks according to the social and market demands; to create good material conditions for students and pupils to learn ITs (computers, libraries, Internet, laboratories�).

To build a number of institutions specialized in providing high-quality training of IT engineers, bachelors and postgraduates to meet the demands of the IT industry, research and teaching for professional labor. To closely and effectively combine the IT training, teaching and research.

To develop and implement IT training programs suitable to students of branches not specialized in ITs, with a view to promoting the IT application in these branches and creating conditions for the development of new technologies, products and services of these branches in combination with IT achievements and methods; to conduct specialized IT training for officials, engineers and students graduated from branches not specialized in ITs. From 2002 to 2005 to train between 2,000 and 3,000 people a year in this form with practical programs.

The State shall adopt policies to support the annual sending of about 300 students for overseas formal training (undergraduate and postgraduate) and of 500 experts and officials at all levels (IT managers, university and college lecturers, researchers, engineers currently working in the IT industry) for short-term probation, research and learning of IT experiences in countries and regions with developed ITs.

To expeditiously train a contingent of senior IT experts (to head IT projects or IT enterprises�) and of leading IT experts.

To give refresher training in IT knowledge to teachers of all educational levels. To teach IT application for students of pedagogic schools. To attach importance to the IT application to education, renewal of teaching methods and education administration.

To socialize the IT education and training work, to encourage social organizations, economic sectors as well as individuals to invest in developing IT human resources. To encourage and adopt policies to support activities of popularizing IT knowledge and information in the entire society. To create conditions and environment to attract foreigners, especially overseas Vietnamese, to bring knowledge, technologies and make investment so as to make active contributions to the process of developing IT human resources in Vietnam.

Annually, around 20% of the officials currently working at the Party�s and State�s organizations and agencies at all levels shall be fostered to raise their IT knowledge.

5. Promotion of IT research and development activities

The IT research work shall aim to solve the following tasks: catching up with the world�s technological advances, effectively adapting and transferring technologies into Vietnam; step by step solving Vietnam�s peculiar IT issues, first of all writing, translation and spoken language. To encourage the setting up of technological nurseries with commercial potentials at research and development institutions of software industrial parks, institutes, universities and production and business sectors of various economic sectors.

To organize the evaluation and recognition of home-made IT products that reach quality standards suitable to the conditions of Vietnam so as to encourage the use thereof. To build and develop a database on domestic IT products.

To encourage the establishment of IT research and development establishments in IT enterprises of all economic sectors.

To consolidate a number of key IT research establishments at institutes and universities and turn them into the core force in research and development.

6. Creation of a favorable legal environment

To formulate and implement IT application and development policies: legislation on electronic information, policies on creating information sources and standardizing information, protecting intellectual property and copyright, procuring and using IT equipment and services of State agencies, on building infrastructures and providing telecommunication and Internet services, training and using IT human resources, on IT investment, research and development; on encouraging the IT application in an economic, practical and effective manner in all social and economic domains, on standardizing IT, information security and confidentiality, investment preferences for IT application and IT industry development; on supporting IT enterprises to expand markets, transfer technologies in the IT domain, and enter into international cooperation on ITs.

7. Strengthening of the system of State management over the IT domain

To formulate and carry out the scheme on organizing the uniform State management over ITs and telecommunications with necessary mechanisms, including the system of titles of IT professionals, IT managers and information leading officials.

To deploy activities of the Steering Committee to assist the Prime Minister in carrying out the action program in implementation of Directive No. 58-CT/TW on stepping up the IT application and development in the cause of industrialization and modernization in the 2001-2005 period as stated in the Prime Minister�s Decision No. 81/2001/QD-TTg of May 24, 2001.

8. Raising of the IT awareness for the entire society, particularly for leading and State management officials

To raise the information quality and effectiveness and diversify information forms, to popularize the knowledge on ITs and the information society on television and other mass media.

To provide information in forms and contents suitable to leaders of all levels on IT strategies and policies in foreign countries, on IT development trends, impacts, importance and capability of IT application in support of various domains and activities�

To formulate and conduct short-term training courses to raise the IT awareness of leaders at all levels.

III. SOLUTIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

1. Major solutions

- To mobilize to the utmost all resources for IT application and development. By 2005 total investment for IT application and development from all sources shall account for 2% of GDP, mainly with the resources from enterprises inside and outside the country and social and economic organizations. Annually, the Government, ministries, branches and localities shall spare an appropriate proportion for IT application and development.

- To perfect the legal framework, mechanisms and policies so as to create favorable conditions for and give preferential treatment to IT application and development. To formulate regulations to strictly and effectively manage IT projects.

- To strengthen the renovation of the State management work, to streamline soon the system of IT and telecommunication management agencies with a view to unifying the State management over this domain.

- To raise the IT awareness for the entire society, particularly for State management officials, leaders of enterprises and social and political organizations.

2. Implementation of key programs, schemes and projects:

a/ Key programs:

- The program on "Building and upgrading telecommunication and Internet infrastructures," presided over by the General Department of Post.

- The program on "Developing IT human resources," presided over by the Ministry of Education and Training.

- The program on "Building and developing the software industry," presided over by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment.

- The program on "Building and developing the hardware industry," presided over by the Ministry of Industry.

b/ Key schemes and projects

- Key schemes

To deploy the scheme on "computerizing the State administrative management in the 2001-2005 period," presided over by the Government�s Office as stated in the Prime Minister�s Decision No. 112/2001/QD-TTg of July 25, 2001.

- Key projects

The project on "Perfecting and upgrading the communication system in service of the Party leadership," presided over by the Party Central Committee�s Office.

The project on "Modernizing the banking system," presided over by the State Bank.

The project on "Perfecting the financial information system," presided over by the Ministry of Finance.

The project on "Modernizing the information system of the customs service," presided over by the General Department of Customs.

The project on "Perfecting and upgrading the State statistic information system," presided over by the General Department of Statistics.

The project on "Organizing the development of electronic commerce," presided over by the Ministry of Trade.

The project on "IT application in service of agricultural industrialization and modernization and rural development," presided over by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The project on "Building on a trial basis a number of communication systems for solving urgent problems in urban management in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh cities," presided over by the People�s Committees of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh cities.

The project on "IT application and development in national defense," presided over by the Ministry of Defense.

The project on "IT application and development in service of public security," presided over by the Ministry of Public Security.

The project on "The system of electronic cultural and social information," presided over by the Ministry of Culture and Information.

The project on "Perfecting and upgrading the system of electronic legal information," presided over by the Ministry of Justice.

Article 2.- Responsibilities of the ministries, branches and localities

a/ The ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government and the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall base themselves on this master plan to elaborate overall plans for the 2002-2005 period and annual plans on IT application and development as a priority component of their respective socio-economic development plans; to proceed with IT application and development activities in their respective regular plans of action; to ensure that the investment projects already approved by competent authorities be invested in and executed on schedule.

b/ The ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government and the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities, which have been assigned to preside over the key programs, schemes and projects mentioned at Point 2, Part III, Article 1 of this Decision, shall have to complete soon the elaboration of investment and execution plans and deploy a number of activities immediately in 2002.

c/ The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Government Commission for Organization and Personnel, the General Department of Post and the General Department of Statistics shall perform the tasks assigned by the Prime Minister in Part III, Article 1 of Decision No. 81/2001/QD-TTg of May 24, 2001 in order to contribute to realizing the specific objectives and contents of this master plan.

d/ To assign the Ministry of Planning and Investment to assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment in balancing and summing up the resources in the State�s five-year and annual plans for the key programs, schemes and projects as well as IT application and development projects and plans of the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the provinces and centrally-run cities; to work out measures to realize the policies on mobilizing capital sources at home and abroad for IT application and development.

e/ To assign the Ministry of Finance to assume the prime responsibility for formulating mechanisms and policies to create conditions for the prioritized arrangement and allocation of sufficient funding for the key programs, schemes and projects as well as IT application projects and plans of the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the provinces and centrally-run cities; to work out mechanisms and policies ensuring efficient spending on IT application and development.

f/ To assign the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment to assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the ministries, branches and the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities in organizing the implementation of the "master plan on the application and development of information technologies in the 2002-2005 period"; to elaborate implementation plans for the 2002-2005 period and annual plans in conformity with this master plan; to propose necessary solutions to the Prime Minister for decision; to organize preliminary reviews of the annual implementation of the master plan and the final review thereof in the ending year.

Article 3.- This Decision takes effect after its signing.

Article 4.- The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to implement this Decision.

For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
PHAM GIA KHIEM