The event was attended by Pham Gia Tuc, Standing Deputy Prime Minister; Thai Dai Ngoc, member of the Party Central Committee and Secretary of the Gia Lai provincial Party Committee; and Luong Hoang Thai, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, together with leaders of ministries, sectors and localities and a large number of businesses.

The Viet Nam Logistics Forum is an annual event organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) since 2013 to coordinate efforts to develop logistics services and strengthen the links between logistics, manufacturing and import-export. It also serves as a venue for dialogue and for updates on pressing issues facing logistics services in Viet Nam and around the world. The forum is held each year in a different locality to promote the development of logistics services in that locality and region.

This year, the forum, themed "Connecting highland logistics, reaching out to global supply chains," was co-organised by the MoIT and the Gia Lai provincial People's Committee. It provides a platform for regulators, localities, associations, experts and businesses to hold dialogue, share initiatives and promote cooperation in logistics development.

Leveraging the strategic position of a "golden land" for agricultural produce

As supply chains are being restructured and the demands for regional connectivity, digital transformation and green development grow ever clearer, logistics plays a pivotal role in linking production, trade and import-export with international markets. For the Central region and the Central Highlands, upgrading infrastructure, services and multimodal connectivity is particularly important to tap the region's development potential effectively.

The Central Highlands is a major producer of agricultural and forestry products and renewable energy, yet logistics costs remain high, and connecting infrastructure and logistics services have yet to match the region's potential. This year, the forum is being held in Gia Lai, which lies at the heart of the Central Highlands and serves as the hub of the Le Thanh international border gate - Pleiku - Quy Nhon Port corridor, creating highly favourable conditions for developing regional, border-gate and export logistics. The message of "connecting the highlands" underlines the urgent need to strengthen infrastructure links, regional connectivity, transport mode connectivity and value chain linkages in order to tap the region's potential effectively.

Opening the forum, Deputy Minister Luong Hoang Thai stressed the need to thoroughly grasp the conclusions of Party General Secretary and State President To Lam, at a meeting on November 2, 2026. Accordingly, logistics must be identified as strategic soft infrastructure, an important component of economic infrastructure and a driver of the economy's productivity, competitiveness and self-reliance. Logistics development must be based on the flow of goods, socio-economic efficiency and the overall national interest, and must not be confined by administrative boundaries.

The Deputy Minister also called on delegates to focus their discussions on four core groups of issues: improving institutions and establishing a National Steering Committee for Logistics Development; developing connectivity corridors; promoting smart logistics and the green transition; and strengthening the capacity of domestic businesses to participate proactively in global supply chains.

Building "strategic soft infrastructure" towards the 2030 targets

Delivering remarks at the forum, Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc stressed that logistics must be identified as strategic soft infrastructure, an important component of economic infrastructure that helps raise the economy's productivity, competitiveness and self-reliance. As Viet Nam targets double-digit economic growth in the 2026-2030 period, logistics development has been identified as one of the key drivers.

The target for 2030 is to cut logistics costs to 12-15% of GDP, while accelerating digital transformation, developing green logistics and strengthening supply chain connectivity. Logistics development must be placed within the overall framework of national and regional planning and infrastructure sector planning, with the efficiency of goods flows and the overall national interest as its basis.

The growing scale of trade opens up new opportunities but also poses major challenges for Viet Nam's logistics sector. To turn opportunities into competitive advantages and those advantages into added value that benefits people and businesses, we must show greater determination, act more decisively and coordinate more closely, resolving every bottleneck once and for all, unlocking every resource and turning every commitment into concrete results in order to reduce logistics costs.

The Government is committed to continuing to address business recommendations promptly and substantively, and to building a favourable, open, transparent and fairly competitive investment environment to promote the development of businesses in general and logistics businesses in particular.

Citing Party General Secretary and State President To Lam, at his working session with the Executive Committee of the Government CPV Organisation and relevant agencies on November 2, 2026, on the orientation for national logistics development, the Standing Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that the Party Central Committee requires the aspiration and determination to turn Viet Nam into a major logistics, transhipment and distribution hub for the region and the world.

Lowering logistics costs: An imperative driven by import-export realities

The forum took place as Viet Nam's import-export activities are growing strongly. In the first 10 months of 2026, total merchandise import-export turnover exceeded USD 1,010 billion. However, logistics costs in Viet Nam still account for around 16-17% of GDP, significantly higher than the global average. This makes it urgent to develop infrastructure, strengthen connectivity and reduce logistics costs, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods.

In the Central Highlands, Gia Lai is expected to become a hub connecting goods from the highlands to the sea and on to international markets, thanks to its position on the Le Thanh international border gate - Pleiku - Quy Nhon Port corridor. In his welcome speech, Thai Dai Ngoc, Secretary of the Gia Lai provincial Party Committee, said the province is working towards this goal and is committed to creating a favourable environment to attract logistics investment projects.

Gia Lai not only seeks to bring local goods to more markets but also aims to become a connecting point for goods, services and supply chains between the Central Highlands, the central coastal region, the wider region and the world. In the coming time, the province will continue to improve its investment environment, accelerate administrative reform, coordinate in removing difficulties and create favourable conditions for businesses to study and invest in logistics projects in line with planning and legal regulations.

Concluding the plenary session of the Viet Nam Logistics Forum 2026, Deputy Minister Luong Hoang Thai affirmed that the MoIT would seriously take on board the directions of Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc. The ministry pledged to immediately implement four groups of priority tasks: specifying tasks with clear timelines; urgently submitting a plan to establish the National Steering Committee for Logistics Development in December 2026; coordinating to remove infrastructure bottlenecks along the highland-coastal corridor; and piloting connections to a national logistics database in 2027 to promote digital transformation and reduce costs for businesses.

On this occasion, the MoIT presented 17 certificates of merit from the Minister of Industry and Trade to collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements in developing Viet Nam's logistics services in 2026. Delegates also heard a number of presentations on the development of the logistics system.

Held annually since 2013, the Viet Nam Logistics Forum (VLF), chaired by the MoIT, is the largest event of the country's logistics sector. Over more than 10 years of accompanying the economy, the VLF has served not only as a venue for high-level policy dialogue and a close link between the various parts of the supply chain, but also as a key contributor of institutional proposals, unlocking logistics flows and affirming Viet Nam's strategic position on the global map.