Address to Tô Lâm, Vietnam’s National Leader: Building a 24/7 Government Powered by Trust and Technology

Your Excellency General Secretary Tô Lâm, distinguished ministers, esteemed colleagues and friends.

As we gather here in London, I am reminded of one of America’s proudest traditions: that those we have once fought hardest often become our closest friends.

Great Britain, our adversary at America’s birth, became our most enduring ally.
Germany and Japan, enemies in a devastating world war, are now partners in peace and prosperity.

And today, the United States and Vietnam offer another remarkable chapter in that same story—two nations once divided by conflict, now bound by mutual respect, shared aspirations, and a determination to build a more connected and innovative world.

Vietnam’s Moment of Transformation

Few nations have advanced as dynamically as Vietnam. In the span of one generation, Vietnam has lifted millions from poverty, built one of Asia’s most competitive manufacturing economies, and cultivated a young, digitally fluent workforce.

This year, Vietnam has embarked on another historic reform—eliminating the district level of government and consolidating provinces—creating a leaner, more responsive state better aligned with the digital age.

At the same time, ministries are being streamlined, public services digitized, and redundancies reduced—freeing resources for innovation, education, and infrastructure.

These are not incremental steps; they are the foundations of a modern, agile, and citizen-centered state.

The Vision: A Government that Never Sleeps

Vietnam’s commitment to building an AI-enabled government that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week is nothing less than transformative.

Such a government is not simply efficient—it is empathetic.
It listens and responds continuously.
It delivers services without delay or discrimination.
It predicts needs, allocates resources wisely, and ensures that no citizen—urban or rural—is left behind.

Imagine a nation where every citizen can interact with government through an intelligent, trusted digital companion; where AI systems optimize traffic, forecast disasters, and flag corruption before it occurs; where decisions are transparent, data is protected, and innovation thrives within clear ethical boundaries.

That is the essence of human-centered AI governance—technology that serves people, not the other way around.

Partnership with the United States

The United States stands ready to support this vision—not as a patron, but as a partner.

Together we can:

• Build trusted digital infrastructure, combining U.S. cloud and semiconductor capacity with Vietnam’s emerging AI talent and ingenuity.
• Co-develop responsible AI standards that safeguard privacy, fairness, and accountability—earning international confidence.
• Expand education and training partnerships between Vietnamese universities, ministries, and U.S. institutions to cultivate the next generation of digital civil servants and innovators.
• Support small and medium-size enterprises so they too can benefit from government digital platforms and contribute to a vibrant, inclusive economy.

Certain advanced technologies require careful stewardship—but frameworks that ensure transparency and accountability will strengthen, not hinder, our cooperation.

Vietnam’s clear civilian focus and administrative modernization will open ever wider lanes of partnership.

The Boston Global Forum stands ready to assemble networks of distinguished scholars, innovators, and companies to support Vietnam pursuing the shared goal of AI Government 24/7.

Networks of Trust

In the years ahead, the most powerful alliances will not be those defined by geography or ideology, but by trust—by the reliability of partners who build and govern technology responsibly.
Vietnam’s progress in administrative reform, its openness to global collaboration, and its emphasis on integrity position it to become a key contributor in this emerging network of trusted digital partners.

The opportunity before us is to demonstrate that technology and governance can reinforce one another—that innovation can coexist with stability, and that prosperity can grow from partnership grounded in mutual respect.

Closing

Nearly four decades after the Đổi Mới reforms opened Vietnam’s economy, the nation now stands on the brink of a new Đổi Mới—one that opens governance itself.
An AI-empowered, 24/7 government would not only enhance Vietnam’s efficiency; it would embody its confidence, creativity, and compassion. It would elevate Vietnam as a flagship country in AI governance and attract others to emulate your path.

By transforming how government serves, Vietnam can shape how nations around the world govern in the AI age.
And in doing so, it reminds us that reconciliation, when coupled with vision, can produce not just peace—but progress for all humanity.

Thanks to the Boston Global Forum for co-hosting this historical event.