Ho Chi Minh City announces the program of the Autumn Economic Forum 2025

Representative of the organizing committee informed the press at the press conference. Photo: DINH DU

The forum is chaired by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, organized by the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (HCMC C4IR) in collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF) and strategic partners. This is a high-level policy dialogue space where the Vietnamese Government, the international community and businesses share knowledge, solutions and initiatives to promote public-private cooperation, green transformation, digital transformation, towards a smart economy.

The forum will take place from November 25 to 27 at Thisky Hall Convention Center (HCMC). The event was directly directed by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and recorded the largest scale ever with the participation of Government leaders, 17 central ministries, 33 localities and 91 international delegations. The city aims to turn the Autumn Economic Forum into an annual international dialogue event of regional scale, similar to the models the City wishes to learn from such as Singapore's Shangri-La Dialogue. In the context of HCMC forming a new urban model after the merger, the economic scale accounts for about a quarter of the country, the role of the national center is further consolidated through events of global influence.

WEF accompanies a locality for the first time

According to Mr. Le Truong Duy, Director of the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Ho Chi Minh City, this year's forum witnessed an unprecedented level of international participation. As of November 13, 91 international delegations had confirmed their participation, more than four times the number of previous events. Of which, about 400 delegates from abroad will attend in person. Many prestigious international organizations such as the IMF, ADB, and 10/17 Centers for the Fourth Industrial Revolution of the global WEF will also be present in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Mr. Le Truong Duy, Director of the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Ho Chi Minh City, speaking at the program. Photo: DINH DU

Notably, this is the first time the WEF has co-organized a forum with a locality, instead of only cooperating at the national level as usual. The WEF Executive Chairman will send a welcome message at the opening session, while the WEF CEO will directly attend the entire three-day program.

The forum was also attended by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son and leaders of central ministries and branches. In addition, 33 provinces and cities in the country also sent leaders to attend to expand the scope of inter-regional cooperation in innovation, logistics, technology, green infrastructure and urban governance.

At the same time, the large business community also strongly accompanies such as Nam A Bank, Techcombank, Masterise, Thaco, Sunwah, CMC, Saigontel, Trung Nguyen... to support the program implementation, ensuring infrastructure, technology, communication and professional content.

Many opportunities to promote public-private cooperation

The forum took place over three days with a series of multi-layered programs. Specifically, on November 25, the morning was dedicated to a youth inspiration session with the participation of the WEF CEO and young scientists, startups and students. In the afternoon, CEO Connect 500 took place, a network connecting 500 domestic and foreign business leaders - the largest scale ever.

November 26 is the main day of the forum, including a plenary session with the participation of the Prime Minister and leaders of the Governments of the countries. After the strategic orientation session, the forum will focus on three key content groups including smart manufacturing and global supply chains, smart services and logistics associated with dual transformation and building smart government in the digital age. These sessions are co-organized by WEF, with the participation of leading experts in technology, green infrastructure, digital economy and urban governance.

On the afternoon of November 26, there will be a High-Level Policy Dialogue session – the highlight of the program. In it, the Prime Minister will have a one-on-one strategic exchange with the WEF Executive Director to clarify Vietnam’s message in international cooperation and the role of Ho Chi Minh City in the global development network.

On November 27, there will be tours of typical businesses and innovation centers of Ho Chi Minh City, along with cultural and historical activities. In addition, there will be investment connection seminars, including the Vietnam - China Investment Connection Seminar and the "CONNECT" Connection Night of the global C4IR network on the Elite of Saigon Cruise.

According to Mr. Le Truong Duy, an important result expected to be announced at the forum is the Joint Statement between Ho Chi Minh City and WEF on responsible industrial transformation, based on the framework that WEF has developed over the past 7-10 years. Vietnam is currently among the first three countries selected to cooperate at this level.

Mr. Nguyen Loc Ha, Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, spoke at the program. Photo: DINH DU

Speaking at the press conference, Mr. Nguyen Loc Ha, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, emphasized that the Autumn Economic Forum 2025 not only introduces the image of "new Ho Chi Minh City after the merger", but also demonstrates the city's commitment to proactively creating a knowledge-based economic development model, based on technology, innovation and sustainable development standards.

Digital transformation and green transformation are considered two strategic pillars, creating the foundation for the formation of a smart economy, where digital technology, innovation and green standards are no longer discrete pilot projects but become natural components of the city's development strategy.

The Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee also affirmed that the city is committed to organizing the forum according to international standards, and at the same time called on press agencies to join in spreading Vietnam's spirit of initiative - creativity - leadership in the new context.

Source: https://ttbc-hcm.gov.vn/tphcm-cong-bo-chuong-trinh-dien-dan-kinh-te-mua-thu-2025-1019981.html