Vietnam saves around VND14.9 trillion (US$642 million) per year as a result of administrative reforma and e-government development, according to Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung, referring to a World Bank calculation method.

Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung at the National Assembly. Photo: Nhat Bac.

Since the beginning of the incumbent government term, over 1,000 administrative procedures, 3,893 out of 6,191 business conditions and 6,776 out of 9,926 categories of goods subject to specialized inspection have been simplified or removed, informed Mr. Dung in a National Assembly hearing on November 6.

These efforts result in 18 million working days per year or equivalent to VND6.3 trillion (US$271.81 million) saved a year.

In May, the government issued Resolution No.68 announcing further measures to cut and simplify at least 20% of existing procedures and 20% of compliance costs related to business activities.

Moreover, the establishment of e-government, specifically the national e-document exchange platform on March 12, 2019 helped save thousands of trillions of dong, stated Mr. Dung.

The e-cabinet system, which was put into operation on June 24, 2019, has now supported over 23 government meeting sessions, saving over 210,000 paper documents or VND169 billion (US$7.3 million) per year.

In August, the launch of the National Reporting System and the Government Operations Center marked a significant step during the process of digital transformation. To date, the system has connected 30 ministries and ministerial-level agencies, and complied 106 out of 200 socio-economic indicators to support the government’s operations.

Notably, the national public service portal that incorporates public services portal of provinces and cities after 11 months of operation has recorded 85 million visits, 25 million documents under processing, and provided 2,200 out of 6,790 online public services, informed Mr. Dung, adding this helps save another VND6.3 trillion (US$271.81 million) per year.

Still lagging behind in e-government development

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in a government meeting in late August said a legal framework would be issued to cover the operation of the e-government in this year.

In 2020, Vietnam ranked 86^th ouf of 193 countries and territories in the UN’s E-Government Development Index (EGDI), up two places against the previous ranking in 2018.

The survey, conducted by the UN between August 2017 and July 2019, revealed the country’s EGDI score at 0.6667 out of 1, making it 24th among 47 countries in Asia and 6th in the South East Asia.

From 99th in 2014 to date, Vietnam’s EGDI has been on the steady rise to 86th in 2020. However, in Southeast Asia, the country’s ranking stayed unchanged, not to mention the gap with countries behind such as Indonesia or Cambodia is narrowing.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, who also serves as vice chairman of the National Steering Committee on e-government, said Vietnam aims to climb 11-15 places in the ranking by 2022.