Promoting cooperation to make Ho Chi Minh City an 'international megacity'

Speaking at 'CEO 500 - Tea Connect', the Prime Minister called on the international community to join and support Ho Chi Minh City in breaking through and becoming an international megacity in the digital age.

On the afternoon of November 25, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired the dialogue program "CEO 500 - Tea Connect" with the theme "Ho Chi Minh City: Towards an international megacity in the digital age". The program is within the framework of the Autumn Economic Forum 2025 held in Ho Chi Minh City.

The program opened with the art performance "Vietnamese Tea - the scent of the earth, the color of the sky and the soul of the Vietnamese people", combined with the tea offering and tea invitation rituals of tea masters to the delegates. The use of tea art in event diplomacy not only creates an aesthetic experience but also demonstrates the spirit of openness and friendliness - an important factor in building business cooperation and policy exchange. Photo: Organizing Committee.

Also attending were Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang; Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son; Executive Director of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Stephan Mergenthaler, along with leaders of central and local ministries, international and Vietnamese agencies, and 500 CEOs of multinational corporations and leading international and Vietnamese enterprises.

Aspirations for an international megacity

This is a high-level dialogue space between the Government, Ho Chi Minh City leaders and more than 500 CEOs, focusing on public-private cooperation, green investment, technological innovation and modern urban governance models. The event opens up opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to participate more deeply in the global supply chain, access capital flows, technology and advanced governance models, thereby improving competitiveness and integration capacity.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang said that after the merger, Ho Chi Minh City is entering a development phase with a broader vision and greater aspirations, with the desire to become a modern, dynamic, livable, and globally competitive international city.

Currently, Ho Chi Minh City has a population of over 14 million people, contributing nearly 25% of the country's GDP. The city continues to affirm its role as an economic locomotive, a major center of financial trade, industry, medical education and international trade, carrying on its pioneering mission for the whole country, with the whole country.

However, the Party Secretary also acknowledged that the international urban stature of Ho Chi Minh City comes not only from population size or economic contribution but also from growth quality, connectivity, governance capacity, international competitiveness and the ability to create a creative and classy living and working environment.

Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang delivered the opening speech at the "CEO 500 - Tea Connect" event. Photo: Organizing Committee.

The city is restructuring its development space, typically with a new development strategy with multi-polar, integrated, connected thinking, oriented towards forming "3 regions, 3 corridors, 5 pillars, 1 special zone".

The five strategic development pillars are: high-tech industry and innovation (in which digital technology, AI, semiconductors, and big data are the driving forces); logistics and free trade (associated with seaports, airports, and free trade zones); development of international financial centers; tourism and cultural industries; medical education, science and technology.

Also according to the head of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, during that process, the city deeply recognized the challenges it was facing and needed to fundamentally and strategically solve many problems, such as the pressure of governance of a large city with a large population and high growth rate.

Along with that is the shortage of financial resources, technology, infrastructure and high-quality human resources. The logistics system and transport infrastructure are still in the process of completion. In addition, there is an urgent need to improve the quality of public services, improve administrative procedures and strengthen digital governance. Finally, there is increasingly fierce competition between economic centers in the region and around the world.

According to the Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, in addition to the City's strong innovation, expanding cooperation and attracting domestic and foreign experts and businesses plays an extremely important role.

"Today's CEO 500 - Tea Connect program is organized to create a space for strategic, open and trustworthy dialogue between city leaders and a team of experts, scholars, and CEOs of domestic and international economic groups in various fields, focusing on the five strategic development pillars above," the City Party Secretary emphasized.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the event. Photo: Organizing Committee.

Speaking at the event, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent greetings and congratulations from General Secretary To Lam to delegates attending the Autumn Economic Forum in Ho Chi Minh City. The Prime Minister expressed his sympathy for localities affected by natural disasters and floods, and thanked the World Economic Forum (WEF) for accompanying Vietnam in organizing this important event.

According to the Prime Minister, the opinions at the Forum have strongly inspired and motivated Vietnam to persevere in realizing its two 100-year goals: by 2030, becoming a developing country with modern industry and high average income; and by 2045, becoming a developed country with high income. These are challenging goals, but they are inevitable. We must turn the difficult into the easy, and the impossible into the possible.

The Prime Minister said that Vietnam is determined to build three fundamental elements: a socialist-oriented market economy; socialist democracy; and a socialist rule-of-law state.

The Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam always maintains political and social stability; puts people at the center, the subject and goal of development; does not trade off social justice, security and the environment for mere economic growth. Along with that is the implementation of three strategic breakthroughs: open institutions, synchronous infrastructure and modern governance.

From these orientations, the Prime Minister outlined six key policy groups. That is, economic development is the central task, building an independent, self-reliant economy associated with deep and effective international integration; Consistently implementing an independent, self-reliant, multilateral, and diversified foreign policy; becoming a reliable partner and active member for peace and common development; Ensuring national defense and security, persevering with the "4 no" policy; Developing culture as the spiritual foundation of society - "if culture exists, the nation exists"; Focusing on social security, ensuring equality in access to essential services; Building a clean and strong political system; stepping up the fight against corruption, negativity, and waste.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Vietnam has transformed itself from a besieged and embargoed country to a country with diplomatic relations with 194 countries; established a comprehensive strategic partnership with all five permanent members of the UN Security Council and many G20 countries; and signed 17 FTAs ​​with more than 60 countries.

Vietnam's GDP increased from 4 billion USD to about 510 billion USD, ranking 32nd in the world. Per capita income reached about 5,000 USD. International trade in 2025 was about 900 billion USD, putting Vietnam in the top 20 countries in terms of trade and investment attraction. The happiness index increased 37 places after 5 years.

Vietnam’s current priority is to maintain macroeconomic stability, control inflation, ensure major balances and promote growth. This effort is always accompanied by the international community, businesses and investors.

More than 500 CEOs from multinational corporations, leading international and Vietnamese enterprises participated in the dialogue program "CEO 500 - Tea Connect". Photo: Organizing Committee.

The Prime Minister appreciated the valuable cooperation of the partners and emphasized the spirit of “harmonious benefits and shared risks”, strengthening trust through open dialogue.

The Prime Minister asked partners to continue supporting Vietnam in five key areas: Mobilizing capital for development, including a plan to form an international financial center in Ho Chi Minh City this year; Developing digital infrastructure; Perfecting institutions; Training high-quality human resources; Promoting smart governance.

Regarding Ho Chi Minh City, the Prime Minister believes that the City will promote its tradition of dynamism and creativity to become an international megacity, capable of competing with major cities in the region.

The Prime Minister thanked the international community for always accompanying Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam, and called for continued cooperation under the motto: "Constructive State - Pioneering Enterprises - Public-Private Partnership".

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/day-manh-hop-tac-de-tphcm-tro-thanh-sieu-do-thi-quoc-te-d786442.html