Remove two major bottlenecks to make science and technology a driving force for growth

The information was stated by the Minister at the Conference to summarize work in the first 6 months of 2026 and deploy tasks in the last 6 months of the Ministry of Science and Technology, held on the afternoon of June 29.

Looking back at the results of the first 6 months of the year, the Ministry of Science and Technology presided over the development and submission to the Government and the Prime Minister for promulgation of 14 decrees, 5 resolutions, 27 decisions and promulgated according to its authority 34 circulars. The Ministry also submitted to the Government two draft laws, including the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Measurement and the Law on Postage (amended).

Mechanisms and policies on basic research, scientific integrity, high-quality research human resource development and strategic technology have been completed by the Ministry of Science and Technology. During this period, Vietnam had 12,842 international publications, an increase of 8.4% over the same period in 2025. Scientific and technological research activities in localities also changed positively towards proactively placing orders, digitizing management processes and promoting commercialization of research results.

Institutions to support innovation continue to be promoted, with a focus on developing local innovation centers, perfecting mechanisms to put the National Venture Capital Fund into operation and upgrading the National Science and Technology Exchange.

Vietnam’s Global Innovation Index ranked 44/139 countries and economies. The creative startup ecosystem ranked 50th globally, up 5 places, reaching its highest position ever; Ho Chi Minh City is among the top 100 startup ecosystems in the world for the first time.

In the field of digital transformation, the Ministry of Science and Technology has reviewed and classified 84 shared digital platforms from central to local levels. By the end of the first quarter of 2026, the whole country has issued about 30.59 million public digital certificates, the universalization rate of digital signatures among the adult population reached 44.21%. Digital transformation in localities has shifted from digitizing procedures to managing, operating and providing services based on data, digital platforms and AI.

Work for the last 6 months of the year

At the conference, the Minister said that after about a year and a half of implementing Resolution 57, institutional improvement was basically completed. Therefore, the focus of the last 6 months of the year and the following years is on implementation. There are two major bottlenecks including disbursement and the drastic leadership and administration of leaders of the Departments of Science and Technology.

Faced with remaining problems, he requested that localities proactively reflect problems so that the Ministry can solve them together, and at the same time, leaders must be more drastic and dare to accept responsibility to advise competent authorities to speed up the progress of science and technology activities, innovation and digital transformation.

Sharing with localities, the Minister hopes that science and technology activities will be associated with businesses in the area. Localities need to pose problems and problems related to their practice and find solutions with the participation of businesses. In case there is still confusion in determining tasks or lack of resources, the Ministry of Science and Technology will coordinate to develop a list of key problems and accompany them in the implementation process.

Regarding the field of innovation, in the coming time, the Ministry of Science and Technology will have a number of projects to support innovation, bringing technology to improve productivity and quality of businesses. With digital transformation, the Minister wants localities to carefully study the new regulations and compare them with their activities, from estimating to disbursement for purchasing equipment and digital platforms.