On the afternoon of June 24, at the Forum "Vietnamese Youth pioneers in starting a business, establishing a career, and developing the country's economy" within the framework of the 13th National Congress of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, term 2026 - 2031, Ms. Nguyen Dieu Linh - Secretary of the Youth Union of the Ministry of Construction shared some orientations and proposals to promote the role of youth in the country's economic development in the coming period.
According to Ms. Linh, the goal by 2030 is for Vietnam to become a high-middle-income country, and by 2045 to become a high-income country. With the current GDP scale exceeding 500 billion USD, union members and youth will be the core force, the direct subject contributing to creating socio-economic development achievements of the country.
To aim for sustainable economic growth with double-digit growth according to the direction of the Party and the Government, Ms. Linh believes that it is necessary to focus on important development pillars.
In which, the development of strategic infrastructure, especially transportation infrastructure and urban infrastructure, plays a key role. Besides, there is the development of the digital economy - a field that is a strength of young people and currently accounts for a large proportion in the economy. At the same time, it is necessary to encourage young people to participate in the development of green economy, circular economy and sustainable growth models.
According to Ms. Linh, in addition to coordinating with credit institutions and the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to support capital for young people starting businesses, it is necessary to advise ministries, sectors and state management agencies to build a legal corridor to protect young people when participating in starting businesses and establishing careers.
Because in fact, not only in Vietnam but around the world, the success rate of startup projects is usually not high, only fluctuating around 20-30%. Therefore, credit risk is inevitable. If there is no appropriate protection mechanism, many young people may fall into a spiral of debt when starting a business fails," Ms. Linh stated her opinion.
From that reality, the Secretary of the Youth Union of the Ministry of Construction proposed three groups of key solutions.
First, promote the role of youth in participating in building national strategic infrastructure.
According to Ms. Linh, Vietnam is implementing many key national projects to create economic growth momentum, including Long Thanh International Airport, high-speed railway projects and other large-scale infrastructure projects.
However, the source of young engineers in these fields is still lacking, especially the team of engineers specializing in high-speed railways, traffic infrastructure operation and urban development according to the TOD model (urban development oriented towards public transport).
Currently, many young people have participated in key national projects, but mainly in basic stages. Therefore, the Youth Union organization needs to have more programs to encourage young people to participate more deeply in technical fields, operation management and development of economic models associated with strategic infrastructure.
Second, promote the pioneering youth movement for comprehensive digital transformation.
Ms. Linh highly appreciated the products and models of digital transformation application introduced at the Congress, especially the initiatives of youth forces of the police force and provincial and city youth unions in promoting products and developing the digital economy.
According to her, digital transformation is one of the important driving forces for developing the agricultural economy, service economy and improving labor productivity. Therefore, it is necessary to continue to improve digital capacity for young people, not only stopping at applying artificial intelligence (AI) in daily work but also expanding to fields of data analysis, ensuring information security and developing technology platforms serving production.
At the same time, it is necessary to promote the application of AI, e-commerce and digital platforms in production and business activities to improve management efficiency and competitiveness.
Third, develop an ecosystem to support youth innovation associated with green economy and sustainable development.
According to Ms. Linh, the Youth Union organization needs to prioritize programs to support youth startups in fields such as green technology, recycled materials, renewable energy and sustainable urban development.
These are not only fields with rich development potential but also create conditions for young people to access many domestic and international capital sources. Currently, many international investment funds are prioritizing projects with sustainable development orientations, thereby contributing to reducing financial pressure and limiting credit risks for young startups.
From the above orientations, Ms. Linh proposed that the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union study and implement three key programs in the 2026 - 2031 term.
Specifically, building a Program for Youth to participate in building national strategic infrastructure with the coordination of ministries, sectors, businesses and corporations operating in the infrastructure sector.
Launching the "Youth Pioneers Comprehensive Digital Transformation" Campaign, encouraging young people to apply digital technology not only in administration or consumption of agricultural products but also in scientific research, innovation and development of initiatives serving production and business.
At the same time, implementing the Project to Support Young Creative Startups associated with the green economy and circular economy to create a favorable environment for sustainable startup models.
I believe that with the pioneering, creative spirit and aspiration to contribute of the youth, along with the companionship of the Youth Union organization, Vietnamese youth will continue to make positive contributions to socio-economic development, bringing the country to sustainable development and rising strongly in the new period," Ms. Nguyen Dieu Linh emphasized.
