ITU asked to continue support for digital economy, smart cities development

Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam (R) welcomes Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union Houlin Zhao at the Government Office in Ha Noi on July 24, 2018. Photo: VGP

The Government of Viet Nam has stepped up efforts in order to develop modern national information infrastructure in favor of digital economy and set out goals on institutional and human resource development to grasp opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution, Dam said.

By the end of June 2018, Viet Nam had 136 million of mobile phone subscribers, of which the number of 4G users rose by 53% against the previous year, stated Dam, adding that Viet Nam always attaches importance to expand telecom services coverage to mountainous areas.

Zhao said his ongoing Viet Nam visit aimed to consolidate cooperation between the Union and member countries.

He called for greater participation of Vietnamese businesses in the ITU activities, including the annual ITU Telecom World- the global platform for high-level debate, networking, innovation-showcasing and knowledge-sharing across the ICT community.

Zhao, born in 1950 in Jiangsu, China, was elected 19th Secretary-General of the ITU on October 23, 2014 .

He graduated from Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and holds an MSc in Telematics from the University of Essex in the UK.

From 2007 to 2014, he served as ITU Deputy Secretary-General, supporting the work of the Secretary-General, principally in terms of day-to-day management, including human resources, financial administration, improving efficiency, and working to help broaden ITU's membership, particularly in terms of academic institutions./.

By Quang Minh