The Fifth Ho Chi Minh City Economic Forum opened in the southern metropolis on Wednesday under the theme 'Industrial Transformation - A New Driving Force for Ho Chi Minh City's Sustainable Development' with the attendance of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

The city hoped the forum would help to determine priorities in industrial transformation, allowing it to gather resources and ensure consistent policies.

Speaking at the opening ceremony for the forum, secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen said Ho Chi Minh City aims to become a smart, modern city in order to improve the living quality of its residents.

The city looks to become a modern industrial city by 2030 and stand equal with other major cities in the region by 2045.

In order to reach such targets, the city needs sustainable solutions.

The city has chosen green transition as its motivation, digital transformation as a breakthrough industry, and development cooperation as an important and inevitable task, Nen noted.

Ho Chi Minh City’s foremost mission is to improve its infrastructure system, particularly its traffic infrastructure and environmental protection technologies, as well as improve the quality of its human resources.

The city also needs breakthrough policies to mobilize resources for investment and development.

The southern hub also expects to make conditions more conducive for the business community to operate and develop, according to the municipal Party chief.

Nen said that domestic and international experts had provided the city with multiple opinions, suggestions, and proposals through economic forums. 

The municipal government has employed these opinions and suggestions to issue effective directives in mid- and short-term development periods.

In addition to diplomatic agencies, consulates general, international organizations, and enterprises, Ho Chi Minh City has friends that have supported it in its toughest times.

“The city will never forget those that have helped it overcome the challenging COVID-19 pandemic,” said Nen.

The city expects the 2024 Ho Chi Minh City Economic Forum to be a venue for economists to exchange and grasp new development trends, according to Dr. Pham Binh An, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies.

This year’s forum, slated to last through Friday, features 40 delegations from 16 countries and territories, including Laos, Cambodia, China, Cuba, the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Russia, India, Australia, and others.

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