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| The 11th Hanoi Book Fair in 2026 at the Hoan Kiem Lake pedestrian area. — Photo: VNA |
Vietnam has recently set a target of transforming the publishing sector into a modern digital content industry and an important part of the cultural economy, with the sector expected to become the core of a value-creation ecosystem by 2030.
Such is part of the plan promulgated under Prime Minister Decision 1062/QD-TTg, which is designed to implement Directive 04-CT/TW of the Party Central Committee's Secretariat, on strengthening the Party leadership over publishing activities in the new context.
The plan’s overall objective is to ensure that the publishing sector continues to uphold its role as an important ideological and cultural domain of the Party, the State and the people. The sector is expected to help protect the Party’s ideological foundation, disseminate the State's policies and laws, enrich the national knowledge base, and contribute to building Vietnamese culture and people in line with the country’s requirements for rapid and sustainable development.
Worthy of note, the Party and the State will retain their leading role in orienting and shaping publishing activities, while mechanisms and policies for public-private partnership in publishing and reading culture will be improved.
As for specific targets, by 2030, the country is expected to complete the legal framework for publishing, including amendments to the Publication Law and relevant regulations. This is accompanied by simplifying administrative procedures for publishing activities, strengthening copyright protection for publications, and combating illegal printing and distribution and digital content infringements.
The plan also targets at establishing one or two major publishing-media groups capable of leading the market and serving political, educational, scientific and cultural tasks, while having 80 per cent of printing facilities apply modern technologies.
Digital transformation is central to the plan. All publishing houses are expected to participate in e-publishing and apply digital transformation to their operations. E-publications will account for 13-15 per cent of total annual book titles.
The plan seeks to strengthen links among schools, families, libraries, publishers and the community in order to foster sustainable reading habits, and promote a culture of reading among Vietnamese communities abroad through multilingual digital repositories and online reading spaces. The average reading rate is expected to reach seven or eight books per person per year, approaching the average level of regional countries with a similar stage of development.
Another key target is to promote international cooperation and enhance the standing of Vietnam's publishing. The plan aims to expand export markets for copyrighted publications, while increasing the number of Vietnamese publications translated into foreign languages and released abroad.
Translation, introduction and promotional activities for valuable Vietnamese publications will be stepped up to reach international audiences. Book fairs and publishing events are also expected to become part of the country’s cultural diplomacy activities.
By 2030, around 150-200 Vietnamese book titles will be translated into foreign languages and released abroad every year. Vietnam also aims to gradually develop an organised and professional market for trading copyright to Vietnamese publications.
The plan also sets out a vision towards 2045 in which the domestic publishing sector will become a modern digital content industry with an advanced level of development in the region.- (VLLF)
