Vietnam looks to Estonia for digital identity expertise and unifying data

Vietnam is accelerating its digital public infrastructure (DPI) roadmap through a new strategic partnership with Estonia.

The collaboration focuses on leveraging Estonia’s experience in building secure electronic identity systems and unified data frameworks. It comes as digital identity expertise is increasingly becoming an export as countries deepen partnerships.

Vietnam has established national databases and its core digital identity platform VNeID, but policymakers acknowledge there’s a gap between infrastructure deployment and active citizen engagement.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Bùi Hoàng Phương noted that digital governance only succeeds when public interactions become routine. Vietnam now aims to transform VNeID from a basic authentication tool into a multi-service digital gateway.

The Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Science and Technology hosted the joint seminar in Hanoi to refine Vietnam’s national digital citizenship strategy. In attendance was Hannes Astok, executive director and chairman of the management board at the Estonian e-Governance Academy, reports Vietnam News.

A focus of the bilateral exchange is adopting Estonia’s “once-only” data principle. In Estonia, state agencies share data automatically across interconnected platforms so citizens only submit information once. This architectural approach eliminates data fragmentation across different government sectors.

Estonian experts noted that secure, state-backed identity systems are essential to maintaining public trust in these automated networks. The Baltic country has been sought out by the likes of Benin, Kenya and Germany for its expertise in digital governance and digital identity, and Cybernetica has been contracted by Côte d’Ivoire to build an interoperability layer.

To get to this level of infrastructure maturity, experts recommend Vietnam strengthen its personal data protection frameworks and interconnect its fragmented data platforms. Elevating digital literacy to ensure widespread adoption is another pillar.

Deputy Minister of Public Security Nguyễn Văn Long called for increased technical cooperation between the two countries, in areas like research, expert exchanges and the development of common data-sharing mechanisms. Vietnam is targeting 2035 for fully digital citizen–government interactions and wants to develop the VNeID app into a multi-purpose national digital platform.

Article Topics

digital government  |  digital ID infrastructure  |  digital identity  |  Estonia  |  Vietnam