Vietnam approves Smart Rural Development Programme

Aiming at enhancing the rural economy, improving rural living standards, and bridging the gap in service quality between rural and urban areas, the government of Vietnam endorsed a national programme for smart rural development with a special focus on building new, modern rural areas through digital transformation. The programme will cover all rural areas across Vietnam by the end of 2025, including extremely disadvantaged communes in ethnic minorities and mountainous and coastal regions. In this vein, the government hopes to have at least 90% of central, 80% of district-level, and 60% of communal public documents handled online. Additionally, the programme will promote the digital economy and connect the production and distribution of key farming products using digital technology, at least 70% of communes will have cooperatives and 70% of districts will have agricultural business models.