GSMA Presents Vietnam with Government Leadership Award 2026, Recognising the Country as One of the World’s Most Dynamic Digital Leaders

Award presented at the Digital Nation Summit Hanoi 2026, supported by findings from the GSMA Digital Nations APAC Report

26 May 2026, Hanoi: The GSMA, the global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem, today presented the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam with the global GSMA Government Leadership Award 2026, the highest global honour for digital policy. The award recognises the nation that best exemplifies visionary leadership paired with real-world delivery and is decided each year by an independent panel of international experts based on evidence of digital progress, policy consistency, and delivery.

Vietnam was selected not only for its bold National Digital Transformation Roadmap, but also for its timely and coordinated delivery over the past two years. The recognition reflects the collective view of the global mobile industry, which now regards Vietnam as one of the most dynamic digital leaders in Asia Pacific.

"It is a real honour to recognise the Government of Viet Nam as the recipient of the GSMA Government Leadership Award 2026, the highest recognition the global mobile industry bestows on a government," said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA. "Vietnam has been recognised not for a single initiative, but for the coherence, pace and consistency of its digital transformation. Vietnam is one of the clearest examples we see of how digital ambition, when matched with policy, discipline and coordinated execution, translates into real economic impact for citizens, businesses and the wider economy."

Vietnam: A Primary Engine of Southeast Asia's Digital Economy

The award recognition is supported by the GSMA's Digital Nations 2025: Sustaining progress in Asia Pacific through investment report, which positions Vietnam as a primary engine of Southeast Asia's digital economy. Key findings include:

• Vietnam's digital economy contributed 18.3% of GDP in 2024, with the Government on track to hit its ambitious 20.5% target this year.

• Vietnam is ranked in the top half of the GSMA Digital Nations Index 2025, marking it as a leading digital nation in Asia Pacific.

• The country shows balanced advancement across all five critical pillars of the Index: Infrastructure, Innovation, Data Governance, Security, and People.

• Vietnam's success is the result of deliberate policy choices rather than chance, reflecting a clear shift from "digital adoption" to "strategic nation building."

Over the past three years, Vietnam has been the fastest-growing digital economy in the region, achieving this at national scale across a population of over 100 million people. The country is on course to become the second-largest digital economy in ASEAN by 2030.

Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific, GSMA, said: "Vietnam's rapidly expanding digital economy is expected to contribute around 30 percent of GDP by 2030, supported by strong foreign direct investment in sectors such as semiconductors, AI and smart manufacturing. Advanced digital infrastructure and next-generation connectivity will determine whether Vietnam captures higher value activity or remains a cost-efficient link in global supply chains."

Building on Success: GSMA Recommendations for Vietnam's Next Phase

To sustain momentum, the GSMA has identified two priorities for Vietnam's next phase of digital development:

Strengthening trust and security

Sustaining digital growth will depend on maintaining trust in digital services. This requires closer, real-time coordination between telecom operators, financial institutions and public authorities to disrupt scams and protect consumers. Initiatives such as the Asia Pacific Cross-Sector Anti-Scam Taskforce (ACAST) and the GSMA Open Gateway framework provide a practical foundation to enable this at scale.

Scaling advanced digital and AI capabilities

Vietnam's strong foundation in community-based digital inclusion provides a platform for the next stage of capability development. Scaling advanced digital and AI skills will be critical to ensure the workforce can support higher value industries and remain competitive as technology adoption accelerates.

"Perhaps Vietnam's most powerful differentiator is its focus on people," added Gorman. "Inclusion is being treated not as a social afterthought, but as a core economic strategy. Scaling advanced digital and AI skills will be the next critical step, and the foundations already in place position Vietnam well to make that transition."

About the Digital Nation Summit Hanoi 2026

The Digital Nation Summit Hanoi 2026 convenes industry leaders, investors, and policymakers to explore how Vietnam can move faster and more confidently in building its digital future. As global supply chains are reshaped by geopolitical shifts, the rise of AI, and new investment flows, Vietnam is increasingly seen as a major digital economy in the Asia Pacific region, not just a manufacturing base.

By strengthening coordination between government, industry, and the wider digital ecosystem, Vietnam is building a secure and inclusive digital future that attracts long-term investment, supports domestic innovation, and strengthens its position in the regional and global digital economy.

"Telecommunications sit at the centre of this shift. Strong networks are no longer only about coverage; they shape productivity, support new industrial use cases, and enable the move towards data-intensive and AI-driven sectors. That is why the Digital Nation Summit Hanoi has been designed to be practical: what needs to change, what needs to scale, and where public and private decisions must align to support long-term growth," said Gorman.

The Summit programme covers key sessions on:

• Driving digital investment and innovation, exploring how policy certainty, infrastructure readiness and access to capital can support high-value digital industries, startups and local innovation ecosystems.

• Trust and cybersecurity, strengthening data protection, scam prevention and regulatory frameworks through real-time coordination between telecom operators, financial institutions and public authorities.

• 5G, AI-RAN, Open Gateway and Open RAN, unlocking new business models, smart industries and cross-sector collaboration through next-generation network architectures.

ENDS

About the GSMA
The GSMA is a global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop, and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry, and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organisations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA delivers for its members across three broad pillars: Connectivity for Good, Industry Services and Solutions, and Outreach. This activity includes advancing policy; tackling today's biggest societal challenges; underpinning the technology and interoperability that make mobile work; and providing the world's largest platform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360 series of events.

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