On the morning of November 29, the plenary session of the Vietnam Logistics Forum 2025 convened in Da Nang under the theme “Vietnam Logistics - Rising into a New Era.” The event brought together Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, senior leaders of ministries, agencies, and localities, alongside representatives of diplomatic missions, international organisations, enterprises, business associations and domestic and foreign investors in logistics and related industries.

Delivering the opening remarks, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien described logistics as a critical service sector, often compared to the “lifeblood” of the economy, the bridge linking production, circulation, consumption, export and import. It is, he emphasised, a key pillar that enhances national competitiveness and drives socio-economic development.

As a country located in one of the world’s most dynamic regions, with concentrated flows of goods, a highly open economy ranked third in ASEAN and 32nd globally, Vietnam has positioned itself among the world’s top 20 economies in international trade and the top 15 destinations for FDI. With a domestic market of over 100 million consumers and export access to nearly six billion people through 17 free trade agreements, together with a decade of double-digit growth in trade turnover and e-commerce, Vietnam is regarded as a market rich in potential for logistics development.

The Minister emphasised that Vietnam also enjoys major structural advantages: a strategic geographic location, deep-water seaports, international airports, major expressways and high-speed rail corridors linking to regional and global markets. These strengths, he said, provide favourable conditions to develop large-scale, modern logistics infrastructure.

Recognising the sector’s importance, the Party and the State have issued numerous mechanisms and policies to remove obstacles, reduce costs, improve competitiveness and foster an enabling environment for logistics services.

With strong and consistent guidance from the Government and the Prime Minister, together with the active engagement of ministries, central agencies, local authorities and especially the business community, Vietnam’s logistics sector has posted robust growth of 14-16% annually, more than double the global average. The domestic logistics market is currently valued at USD 45-50 billion, equivalent to 10% of GDP and 5% of total trade turnover. Vietnam has gradually built its brand and presence in the region and the world, ranking among the top 10 emerging logistics markets, top 4 in the region in logistics opportunity index, and top 5 in ASEAN and top 40 globally in logistics performance in 2025.

However, despite these achievements, Minister Dien acknowledged that Vietnam’s logistics sector has not yet realised its full potential. Logistics costs remain high compared to other regional economies, undermining competitiveness. Regional connectivity and infrastructure linkages remain incomplete; shortages of high-quality human resources persist; professional standards are uneven; digital and green transitions are still in the early stages; and the lack of shared data platforms continues to create bottlenecks. These constraints, he stressed, require comprehensive, feasible and sufficiently strong measures to unlock resources and propel the sector forward.

The Minister noted that Vietnam is entering a new era defined by rapid advances in science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, green transition and deeper global integration, developments that present both opportunities and challenges. Global economic and geopolitical shifts, supply chain restructuring, cross-border e-commerce, green and sustainable development standards and intensifying strategic competition among major powers all pose new demands on logistics and the wider economy.

“This year’s Forum is held under the theme ‘Vietnam Logistics - Rising into a New Era’ to convey the Government’s strong message on promoting investment and expanding logistics services through bold and practical policies and attractive, transparent mechanisms. In an era of deepening international integration, logistics is one of the most critical competitive advantages and a powerful tool for countries to fully harness the gains of integration,” Minister Nguyen Hong Dien underscored.

As the lead agency for state management of logistics, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has submitted to the Prime Minister the Vietnam Logistics Services Development Strategy for 2025-2035, with a vision to 2050. Over the next decade, the goal is to build a sustainable, efficient, high-quality, value-added logistics sector with strong competitiveness, fully leveraging Vietnam’s advantages in global supply and value chains. The strategy aims to position Vietnam as a logistics powerhouse contributing significantly to industrialisation and modernisation. Ongoing administrative boundary reforms and streamlined two-tier local governance structures will further expand space for logistics infrastructure and service development.

“These priorities are not only vital for the logistics sector but also carry broader significance for Vietnam’s economic development in this new era, an era of national ascent,” he said.

The Minister called on participants, drawing on their practical experience across regions, sectors and industries, to focus discussion on achievements, persistent shortcomings and underlying causes, especially subjective ones; to identify lessons learned; and to map out opportunities and challenges ahead.

“Based on this, delegates are encouraged to propose solutions that help logistics enterprises strengthen internal capacity, seize emerging opportunities, improve service quality and competitiveness, build brand reputation and anticipate future trends and policies. At the same time, recommendations should include strong and feasible mechanisms to attract investment in logistics infrastructure, thereby creating new breakthroughs for rapid, sustainable development of Vietnam’s logistics sector in the coming era,” Minister Nguyen Hong Dien emphasised.