Hanoi (VNA) – Factors that form the foundationof an e-Government must be completed in 2020, which is one of the tasks ine-Government building for the year, according to Prime Minister Nguyen XuanPhuc.

The PM chaired a teleconference in Hanoi onFebruary 12 between the National Committee on e-Government and the steeringboards for e-Government and e-administration building of ministries, sectorsand localities.

Minister, Chairman of the Government Office MaiTien Dung reported positive outcomes in administrative reforms and businessclimate improvement associated with e-Government building last year.

Fifty-five of the 63 provincial-level localitieshave set up public administrative service centres, 95.8 percent of procedureshave been handled on schedule, and 3,451 of the 6,191 business conditions setup by ministries and sectors have been eliminated. Meanwhile, 6,776 of the9,926 lines of goods subject to specialised inspection, as well as 30 of the120 administrative procedures related to specialised inspection, have beenremoved.

The reduction and simplification have helpedsociety save more than 18 million workdays or over 6.3 trillion VND (271million USD) each year, Dung noted.

From December 9, 2019, when the PM launched theNational Public Service Portal, to February 9, 2020, more than 44,200 accountswere opened on this portal. The website recorded over 13.4 million visits, had6,900 online dossiers handled successfully, and dealt with 4,150 opinions ofpeople and businesses. About 3,900 calls to the switchboard 18001096 weresolved.

So far, nine of the 22 ministries andministry-level agencies and all the 63 provincial-level localities have beenconnected with the National Public Service Portal, he said.

Minister of Information and CommunicationsNguyen Manh Hung said all ministries, sectors and localities have beenconnected with the national e-document exchange platform, helping raise therate of e-documents exchanged online from 72 percent in 2018 to 86.5 percent in2019, very close to the target of 20 percent for 2020.

The rate of online public services provided atlevel 4 – the highest level – surged from 4.55 percent in 2018 to 10.76 percentlast year, the official added.

Applauding the strides, PM Phuc also cited theUN’s E-Government Development Index 2018 as showing that Vietnam just ranked88th among 193 countries and sixth in the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN), which is still low compared to the world and ASEAN’s average.

He attributed the modest ranking partly to theweak performance in protecting personal data and the lack of determination ine-Government building in some places. He also pointed to incomplete database,problematic technical infrastructure, the shortage of resources fore-Government building, and limited budget for the work in many localities.

For 2020, the leader requested all resources tobe mobilised to fulfill the goals set for the year, especially raising the rateof level-4 online public services to 30 percent.

He asked ministries, sectors and localities tobuild a strategy on e-Government for 2021-2025 with a vision to 2030; perfectrelevant regulations such as issuing decrees on data management, connection andsharing, online identification and verification, and personal informationprotection, and amending laws on e-transactions and archives; and complete thebasic factors of an e-Government.

PM Phuc also assigned the Ministry ofInformation and Communications to develop a single mobile app via which peopleand businesses can access all services of the e-Government./.