ICF Summit 2025: Aspirations for sustainable global megacities

On the morning of December 3, in Ho Chi Minh City, the ICF Global Summit 2025 with the key theme of "Smart and Investment Ready - Transforming Vietnam's Economy " was officially opened by the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City in collaboration with the ICF and Becamex Group.

Strategy for creating sustainable megacities

Speaking at the opening session of the Plenary, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Loc Ha affirmed that Ho Chi Minh City is entering a period of extensive restructuring and development, based on the philosophy that the future of a modern megacity must be built from knowledge, science and technology, innovation and sustainable development.

“The city is strongly promoting dual transformation, both digital transformation and green economic development; perfecting shared databases and modern digital infrastructure; and at the same time building an innovation ecosystem based on the three-party cooperation model of 'State - Institute - Enterprise'”, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Nguyen Loc Ha emphasized.

In particular, the transfer of the organizational role from Binh Duong (before the merger) - the locality that was honored by ICF as the World Smart Community of the Year 2023 - to Ho Chi Minh City is considered a rare story of successful succession.

Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Loc Ha delivered the opening speech

Mr. Lou Zacharilla - co-founder of ICF commented that this transfer not only maintains continuous development momentum but also enhances Vietnam's position in the network of more than 200 member cities worldwide.

Sharing the same view, Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City Lam Dinh Thang stated that science and technology are the pillars of the new development model. Without science and technology, there can be no smart cities; and without innovation, there can be no new growth model.

“Ho Chi Minh City is aiming for a digital economy ratio of 40% of GRDP by 2030, equivalent to the group of fast-growing urban areas in the world. The experience of the world's leading smart communities is a valuable lesson and shows that developing smart cities is not a race of technology, but a journey of vision, perseverance, innovation and commitment to serving the community,” said Mr. Thang.

As a key partner in spreading the philosophy of smart communities in Vietnam, General Director of Becamex Group Nguyen Hoan Vu shared that what is more valuable lies in the consistent value system of building a creative government; developing digital infrastructure in parallel with industrial - urban - service infrastructure; creating an environment for businesses to innovate technology; for universities and research institutes to master knowledge; and for people to access new opportunities of the era.

Becamex Group General Director Nguyen Hoan Vu speaks

The General Director of Becamex Group also emphasized that the core philosophy of ICF is that the intelligence of a city does not lie in the number of sensors or the modernity of technology, but in the ability to connect people - organizations - resources - knowledge to transform potential into real value for people.

Becamex Group affirms that it will continue to accompany and spread ICF's Smart Community philosophy, making practical contributions to the development journey of Ho Chi Minh City, where each agency, enterprise, university and residential community can become a nucleus to create common value for the development of the future megacity.

Orientation of digital transformation and green transformation

ICF Global Summit 2025 brings together more than 600 global leaders, urban experts, technology corporations and leading investors, creating an important forum to promote international cooperation. The forum revolves around the 6 core pillars of ICF, and is fully aligned with the digital transformation and green transformation orientation of Ho Chi Minh City.

In addition, the High Level Discussions promise to bring in-depth dialogues, led by ICF Co-Founders Robert Bell and John Jung, and featuring leading Mayors and Innovators from Canada, the United States, Brazil, Türkiye, Spain and the Netherlands.

In particular, the Strategy Discussions explore practical applications of the ICF-proven Community Acceleration Strategy. These discussions focus on finding solutions to enhance urban competitiveness through building innovation ecosystems and attracting high-quality investment.

In addition, the event also dedicated space to learn more about the Vision of the post-merger megacity Ho Chi Minh City, outlining opportunities for the city to rise to become the leading economic and technological center of the region.

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