Minister Nguyen Manh Hung: Enterprises transition from technology mastery to autonomy and leadership

The Vietnam Journal of Science and Technology is honored to present the speech of Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung at the Forum.

Today, we gather to look back on an important journey and simultaneously open a new stage of development for a grand vision - Make in Viet Nam - Design in Vietnam, innovate in Vietnam, make in Vietnam.

Six years ago, amidst a volatile world, disrupted global supply chains, a digital technology boom, and intensifying strategic competition, Vietnam chose a difficult but very correct path: Transitioning from “outsourcing and assembly” to “designing, mastering, and innovating in Vietnam”. The Make in Viet Nam vision was born from that demand.

After six years, we can affirm: Make in Viet Nam is no longer just a slogan, it has become a movement, a development method, and a practical capability.

Thousands of “Make in Viet Nam” technology products have been born. Many Vietnamese tech enterprises have designed and integrated them into commercial products, mastered core technologies, mastered systems, mastered data, and provided solutions for millions of domestic users. Some products have reached regional and international markets.

More importantly, we have formed a generation of enterprises, engineers, and scientists who dare to think big, dare to master, and dare to conquer the world.

Make in Viet Nam, over the past five years, has helped Vietnam transition from being a “technology user” to a “technology creator” in many fields; from importing solutions to designing solutions suitable for Vietnam's conditions; from a “follower” mindset to a “peer” mindset.

Today's world is entering a completely new stage. Technology is not just an economic development tool but has become the foundation of national competitiveness, digital sovereignty, and national power in the new era. Global competition is no longer just about scale but about the capacity to lead in technology, standards, platforms, and ecosystems.

In this context, if we only stop at “Make in Viet Nam” in the sense of mastering for ourselves, it is not enough. Vietnam needs a new step - higher, harder, but more inevitable.

Therefore, today, we officially launch the new phase: “Make in Viet Nam to Lead” - Innovate in Vietnam, Make in Vietnam - to Lead.

"To lead" - does not mean leading at any cost, but leading in fields where Vietnam has advantages, practical needs, the ability to create differences, and sustainable value.

“Make in Viet Nam to Lead” is the transition from mastery to autonomy and leadership, from products to core technologies and standards, from individual solutions to platforms, and from the domestic market to regional and global markets.

In this new phase, we do not just ask: “Is this product made by Vietnamese people?”, but must ask: “Can this product lead the market? Can it shape new ways of doing things? Can it create new standards?”.

"Innovate in Vietnam, Make in Vietnam - to Lead" requires different thinking, different methods, and different institutions.

First, a leadership mindset. Leading does not start with technology, but with the grand problems of the country and humanity, such as smart urban management, digital health, digital education, smart agriculture, clean energy, AI for humans, the data economy, and digital safety and security. Wherever Vietnam has real problems, a large enough market, and high political determination - there Vietnam has an opportunity to lead.

Second, leading products must be platforms. "Innovate in Vietnam, Make in Vietnam - to Lead" is not about making many disconnected applications, but about building core platforms: National digital platforms, data platforms, AI platforms, cloud computing platforms, semiconductor platforms, and digital industry platforms. Whoever masters the platform has the ability to lead the ecosystem.

Third, enterprises are the center of leadership. The State does not replace enterprises, but the State will create the market, create the rules of the game, create trust, and create testing spaces.

In the "Innovate in Vietnam, Make in Vietnam - to Lead" phase, the State will shift strongly from a management role to a creative and companion role, especially through ordering policies, public procurement, sandboxes, standards, and open data.

Fourth, human resources are the decisive factor for leadership capacity. Leading is impossible with only engineers who follow instructions; there must be system designers, system integrators, data scientists, technology architects, standards experts, and technology policy experts. "Innovate in Vietnam, Make in Vietnam - to Lead" requires a high-quality human resource development strategy closely linked to enterprises and national problems. The more national problems there are, the more high-quality human resources will develop.

Fifth, institutions must be one step ahead. Laws are not just to manage what already exists but must pave the way for the new. The "Innovate in Vietnam, Make in Vietnam - to Lead" phase needs more flexible institutions, more experimentation, acceptance of controlled risks, risk-based management, and primarily post-audit. Institutions must become a national competitive advantage, not a barrier.

Sixth, the "Innovate in Vietnam, Make in Vietnam - to Lead" path is to go from product mastery to technology mastery. It moves from Vietnam’s grand problems to form solutions and products. From products, the demand for core technology is formed. From core technology, the questions for basic scientific research are formed. This is the path of "going from the Earth to the Sky". Vietnam's problems and aspirations are the cradle that gives birth to Vietnamese technology.

"Innovate in Vietnam, Make in Vietnam - to Lead" is not a story of a single Ministry, industry, or group of enterprises. This is a national strategy, a combination of State - enterprises - academies - society, and the resonance of national aspirations and technological capacity.

We are not under the illusion that Vietnam will lead in all fields. But we can completely lead in several areas if we have the right vision, right policies, and decisive action.

The spirit of "Innovate in Vietnam, Make in Vietnam - to Lead" is: Vietnam does not just keep up, but in certain fields, Vietnam must lead - not by scale, but by new methods, new models, new platforms, and new standards that are smart, humane, and sustainable.

I believe that with the foundation of the past six years, the innovative aspirations of the business community, the intellect of Vietnam's science and technology team, and the strong political determination of the Party and the State, "Innovate in Vietnam, Make in Vietnam - to Lead" will not only be a new phase but will become a new milestone in the country's development journey./.

Copyright belongs to the Vietnam Journal of Science and Technology (VJST-MOST).