Vietnam International Digital Week 2026 in Quang Ninh Puts AI Governance at the Top of the Agenda
Vietnam International Digital Week 2026 (VIDW 2026) will run from October 28 to 30 in Quang Ninh under the theme “Smart connectivity: Governing AI, shaping AI transformation”, with AI governance and wider technology cooperation at the top of the agenda, the newspaper Thể thao & Văn hóa reported on October 22. The event, chaired by the Ministry of Science and Technology, is expected to bring together about 500 domestic and international delegates.
After the high-level opening on October 28, ministers will hold a roundtable on governing AI and promoting AI transformation, covering strategic digital technologies, data, computing capacity and infrastructure, and mechanisms for research, development and commercialisation, with safe and responsible AI governance as the focus. That afternoon, an inter-regional dialogue on AI capacity building will report back on the Global Dialogue on AI Governance held in Geneva in July 2026 and prepare policy recommendations for the 2027 international process.
On October 29, a Vietnam–Japan workshop under the Hiroshima AI Process Friends Group will discuss a safe, trustworthy, human-centred AI ecosystem and cooperation on policy and standards. Other sessions cover cross-border trust services such as electronic signatures, and a Vietnam–China workshop will look at large language models, agentic AI and infrastructure optimisation. Forums with ASEAN, the EU, Australia and South Korea, an ASEAN 5G conference and an exhibition of AI, 5G, IoT and big-data products round out the programme.
What it means in practice
The week is framed as part of Resolution 57-NQ/TW, the Politburo’s push for breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation. The article’s premise is that Vietnam cannot make those breakthroughs alone, which is why governance talks are paired with partner forums. Japan stands out: Minister of Science and Technology Vu Hai Quan met Japan’s internal affairs and communications minister, Fujii Hisayuki, in Tokyo on October 2 to plan joint work on Vietnamese-language AI and specialised models that reflect Vietnamese language and culture.
Governance is not abstract for Vietnamese AI developers. The ministry has clarified that its generative-AI sandbox does not grant deployment rights, Hanoi has launched an Agent City initiative for public services, and Vietnam has asked Japan for a mini-fab lab and broader AI ties.
What to watch: whether the ministerial roundtable produces a joint statement or concrete agreements, what recommendations Vietnam carries into the 2027 dialogue, and whether bilateral meetings on the sidelines lead to signed AI cooperation programmes.