Vietnam pushes AI to strategic priority after 18 months of Resolution 57

Eighteen months after the Communist Party’s Resolution 57 on breakthrough science, technology, innovation and digital transformation, Vietnam has elevated artificial intelligence (AI) to a core strategic sector. The Prime Minister’s Decision 21/2026/QD‑TTg lists AI alongside big data, cloud computing and the Internet of Things as top‑ranked digital technologies, and a draft list of 30 strategic technology products names large‑language‑model Vietnamese tools, virtual assistants and sector‑specific AI first.

New legislation — the Law on Digital Transformation, the Law on Artificial Intelligence, and a national AI strategy — provides a legal framework, while a proposed AI Development Fund and the establishment of a unified national digital data resource aim to secure domestic AI capability. The government targets a top‑three position among Southeast Asian nations in AI research and development by 2030, and has begun applying AI in public administration, service delivery and economic management.

The broader reform agenda highlighted in a Vietnamese agricultural bulletin notes that the same resolution has also spurred faster digitisation of public services, online government procedures and infrastructure projects, reflecting a nationwide shift toward a digital economy.