Digital economy

Promoting access to and safe use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and digital technology can expand trade opportunities and improve efficiency and productivity.

Enabling inclusive digital trade can be an effective means of increasing trade and investment opportunities and access for women entrepreneurs, including by overcoming restrictions on movement and accommodating unpaid care work⁵³.

Harnessing technological change, adapting to its disruption, and leveraging its opportunities will be vital to economic recovery from COVID-19. COVID-19 has underscored the importance of digital trade to our economies, and has driven an increasingly large number of firms and consumers online. It has accelerated efforts, and dramatically increased the commitments by governments and industry to digitalise.

Australia

Australia’s Digital Economy Strategy sets out a future for Australia as a modern and leading digital economy and society by 2030. The Digital Economy Strategy aims to build the foundations to expand the digital economy, build capability in emerging technologies and to set digital growth priorities.

Australia is committed to working bilaterally, regionally, and multilaterally to secure quality digital trade rules, help bridge digital divides across the Indo-Pacific region, and to encourage innovative uses of digital technologies to support sustainable and inclusive development.

Vietnam

Vietnam is focusing on updating its existing trade, manufacturing, and industrial sectors, to accelerate the coming of Industry 4.0. This includes developing a quality workforce to meet development needs, developing digital or e-government, and improving digital infrastructure, including enabling nationwide 5G network coverage.

Vietnam has committed to digital trade rules in its free trade agreements (FTAs), including to support business and traders through cross-border data flows.

Further opportunities

Vietnam and Australia recognise the value of cooperation on digital trade rules. Bilaterally, there is great potential for cooperation in information and communication fields. Promoting the development of an ICT industry backed by future connectivity solutions like 5G/6G and robust cybersecurity measures will fuel economic recovery during the post-COVID-19 period, as part of broader digital transformation agenda.

CSIRO’s Data61, the data and digital specialist arm of Australia’s national science agency, and Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology have developed Vietnam’s Future Digital Economy: Towards 2045, a report that examines the trends affecting the development of Vietnam’s digital economy until 2045. Cooperation, under Aus4Innovation, will also identify areas of complementarity in emerging digital industries.

To advance cooperation in digital trade, Australia and Vietnam have agreed to identify priority areas for digital trade cooperation and develop a workplan for implementation. These priority areas and workplan will be recorded in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Vietnam and Australia are also well-placed to cooperate on setting interoperable, trusted digital standards in Southeast Asia to ensure emerging technologies are underpinned by human-centred values. Establishing standards that foster interoperability, innovation, transparency, diverse markets and security by design is a key goal of Australia’s 2021 International Cyber and Critical Technology Engagement Strategy. E-commerce has been identified as a key joint area for cooperation on cybersecurity standards. The cooperation will build upon both countries’ national plans and strategies. This includes Australia’s Digital Economy Strategy (outlined above), 2020 Cyber Security Strategy and Digital Transformation Strategy 2018-2025; and the Vietnamese Government’s national e-commerce development master plan for the period of 2021-2025 ⎯ which aims to facilitate e-commerce development, and for Vietnam to become a top three ASEAN country based on e-commerce turnover value.

Vietnam’s Prime Minister has also approved a National Digital Transformation Agenda to 2025, with a vision to 2030. This sets an aspiration for the digital economy to contribute 30% of GDP by 2030. This will open the door to opportunities for experienced and quality Australian services suppliers including in digital health and digital banking services, in particular.