In her remarks at the event on October 10, Associate Professor and Dr Pham Thu Huong, Rector of Foreign Trade University, affirmed that after nearly four decades of implementing the Doi moi (Renewal) policy, Viet Nam has achieved remarkable socio-economic development and international integration. Since joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007 and participating in new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs), Viet Nam has become one of the world’s 20 largest trading economies.
“However, in the context of profound global trade transformation, traditional advantages such as cheap labour and abundant natural resources are gradually diminishing. This requires Viet Nam to seek new growth drivers to sustain its momentum of integration and achieve sustainable development,” Huong emphasised.
The Viet Nam International Trade Report 2025 focuses on analysing five new growth drivers for Viet Nam’s international trade in the coming period, including an enabling State, enterprise-centered development, university-business linkages; next-generation FTAs as institutional foundations for comprehensive integration; digital trade as a technological driver breakthroughs; sustainable trade as a normative driver for global market access; and global value chains as structural drivers for Viet Nam’s industrial upgrading.
Experts commended the report as both practical and visionary. It not only identifies opportunities but also highlights key bottlenecks Viet Nam must address to shift its growth model from one based on low costs to one driven by productivity, innovation, and added value.
Speakers also emphasised the urgency of accelerating digital transformation in trade, developing an intelligent logistics ecosystem, building a high-quality workforce, and strengthening linkages between foreign-invested enterprises (FDI) and domestic firms to increase the local value-added ratio and reduce dependence on intermediate imports.
With a spirit of openness, scientific rigour, and constructive dialogue, the Viet Nam International Trade Forum 2025 serves as a multi-dimensional dialogue platform connecting academia, policymakers, and the business community, contributing to knowledge dissemination, experience sharing, and the creation of innovative solutions for Viet Nam’s international trade in an era of deep integration.
