Resolution No 19 on renewing the national development model sets out the requirement to shift from extensive growth to a model that relies increasingly on productivity, science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, green transition, and the quality of human resources.

This is not merely an adjustment of certain growth drivers, but a deeper change in how the outcomes of development are created, distributed, and enjoyed.

Through this series of articles, the authors approach Việt Nam’s story of renewing its development model from multiple perspectives offered by economic experts, researchers, and scholars, thereby clarifying both the opportunities, bottlenecks, and conditions necessary for the major objectives of Resolution No 19 to become reality.

The articles analyse the requirement to shift towards a model based on productivity, science and technology, innovation, and the value-creation capacity of Việt Nam’s economy itself, emphasising that as the international competitive landscape changes, technological capability, skills, data, energy efficiency, and supply chain resilience are increasingly decisive in determining the position of each economy.

The analyses in the series point out that the path to becoming a high-income country cannot rely solely on increasing investment capital or maintaining high growth rates for a few years. Việt Nam needs to improve investment efficiency, strengthen the capacity of domestic enterprises, enhance linkages between the FDI sector and Vietnamese firms, promote technology transfer, develop high-quality human resources, and make the private sector one of the leading forces in innovation.

More importantly, in the new development model, people are placed at the centre; institutions must truly become a driving force for development; enterprises, especially those in the private sector, need to be enabled to grow, innovate, and compete; and science, technology, and knowledge must be translated into productivity, products, and real value.