To boost economic development, Vietnam needs to build a systematic and synchronized data chain across key sectors such as logistics, energy, urban planning, and industry, contributing to a modern, safe, and sustainable national data ecosystem, said Major General Nguyen Ngoc Cuong, Director of the National Data Center and Vice President of the National Data Association (NDA).

Speaking at a workshop theming “Location Data – International Experiences and Lessons for Vietnam,” organized by NDA collaboration with the Vietnam Global Data Expert Network (VDEN) on August 10, Major General Cuong, affirmed that data has become a vital strategic resource for every nation.

The Politburo’s recent approval of a project to develop the national database, along with the orientation toward developing a data economy, further proves the critical importance of this field. Among various types, location data serves as the core and most essential layer, he said.

“The core goal is for data to truly contribute to economic development and increase scientific content through in-depth handling of specific issues. Currently, the Party and State have cleared maximum institutional hurdles; the remaining issue lies entirely in execution,” Mr. Cuong said.

Elaborating on the implementation strategy, Lieutenant Colonel Dao Duc Trieu, General Secretary of the NDA, noted that building data infrastructure is like a revolution moving from “nothing” to “something.” The Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress identified the data economy as the focus of the new growth model. The State is aiming to turn data into a new factor of production, standing alongside land, capital, labor, and science and technology.

To catch up with advanced countries, Vietnam is simultaneously executing five stages: data creation, infrastructure building, data governance based on trust (ensuring data is accurate, sufficient, clean, live, and unified for shared use), application exploitation, and promoting socio-economic value. The exploitation of resources will focus on the four most important types of data: people, items, locations, and behaviors.

Regarding location data, sharing experiences from Switzerland, Dr. Luu Vinh Toan—Technical Analysis Director at UBS Group and President of the Association of Vietnamese Intellectuals and Expertsn in Switzerland—affirmed that preparing a foundational database is a mandatory step before expecting complex AI applications.

“Switzerland prepared its address data long ago, establishing standardized formats to link entities such as buildings, streets, administrative landmarks, and postal codes without needing AI. Once the infrastructure is solid, AI steps in to create added value,” said Dr. Toan.

Therefore, for Vietnam at this stage, the core principle in input standardization is “do it once and at a single window.” The management of data components such as buildings, entrances, and postal codes must be clearly assigned to specific agencies.

“Inaccurate location data can cause enormous costs, affecting hundreds of delivery companies or telecommunications firms that may fail to suggest appropriate internet packages to residents. Therefore, to ensure effectiveness, reports of data errors should be sent directly to the State’s management system for synchronization across the economy, rather than just being reflected on foreign platforms, which lack legal responsibility for national infrastructure,” Dr. Toan said.