The 3rd Ho Chi Minh City Friendship Dialogue in 2026 took place from September 10-12, with the theme “Local Foreign Affairs: A Catalyst for Innovation and Sustainable Growth”, bringing together leaders from various localities and international organizations to share strategic visions on local foreign affairs and proactive integration. (Photo: Ngoc Anh)

The Face of a City with a Deep-Water Port

From July 1, 2025, after merging with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City entered a new development phase, covering an area of over 6,770 km² and a population of over 14 million people. It has become a convergence point for three of Vietnam's most dynamic growth poles: the financial-commercial-service-science and technology center in the core urban area; the high-tech industrial production space in Binh Duong; and the deep-water port system, marine economy, energy, and marine tourism in the Vung Tau area.

This development space is reinforced by an important legal corridor, including the Urban Development Law passed by the National Assembly on August 24 and Resolution No. 09-NQ/TW dated May 19 by the Politburo on building and developing Ho Chi Minh City in the new era, aiming for a per capita GRDP of $14,000 by 2030 and $75,000 by 2045.

Local foreign affairs are a crucial channel for the City to transform this development potential into tangible resources: connecting international financial centers, attracting experts and high-tech capital to the core urban area; promoting investment, technology transfer, and expanding supply chains for the Binh Duong industrial area; while creating a multilateral port cooperation forum, sharing experiences in green port management, and connecting the global logistics chain for the Vung Tau marine economy area.

Ho Chi Minh City currently has an extensive local-level foreign affairs network with friendly relations with 88 localities and nearly 20 international organizations and partners across continents. The city is also a hub for FDI projects with over 20,000 active projects, significantly contributing to the flow of technology capital and national development resources. In the first six months of 2026, the City's economy reached nearly $60 billion, the highest in the past decade, contributing nearly 25% of the national GDP and over 30% of the total national budget revenue.

The strategic regional infrastructure system continues to bolster the City's development position. The Cai Mep – Thi Vai port cluster is currently the largest deep-water port in the South and ranks 19th globally in terms of mother ship reception capacity, with an average depth of 14m, capable of accommodating vessels up to 250,000 DWT. Additionally, the Phu My 3 Specialized Industrial Park - a model of cooperation between the Vietnamese and Japanese governments - is developing along ecological and industrial symbiosis lines, meeting stringent ESG and sustainable development standards.

These strategic advantages create new momentum, helping the City enhance its intrinsic strength and optimize its ability to attract high-tech resources and green industries for future development chains.

Overview of the Mayor's Conference within the framework of the Ho Chi Minh City Friendship Dialogue 2026, on September 11. (Source: FD 2026)

Local Foreign Affairs Initiatives Spread in the International Community

With a proactive spirit in local foreign affairs, the City successfully organized two Ho Chi Minh City Friendship Dialogues (FD) in 2022 and 2024, creating strong connections between localities and opening up increasingly extensive cooperation spaces between the City and friendly localities, the business community, and international organizations.

This year marks the 3rd organization, with FD 2026 taking place from September 10-12, under the theme “Local Foreign Affairs: A Catalyst for Innovation and Sustainable Growth”, gathering leaders from various localities and international organizations to share strategic visions on local foreign affairs and proactive integration.

At the Mayor's Conference, parties discussed and reached a consensus on using local foreign affairs as a lever to attract technology resources and talent, aiming to create a modern urban ecosystem with sustainable growth. Localities also proposed various solutions to encourage businesses to invest in research and development (R&D), transform innovation results into commercial products, and the role of local governments in enhancing port cooperation and meeting new-generation sustainable standards.

A notable outcome is the support for initiatives and research on a multilateral city-level cooperation mechanism on ports, aiming to create a regular forum for exchanging experiences, sharing data, expanding links and coordination between ports, as well as expanding markets and connecting supply chains to meet new-generation sustainable standards.

The successful organization of FD 2026 not only affirms the capability of modern urban management, opening a direct tool to attract high-quality investment capital, green technology, and advanced logistics to the City, but also contributes to Vietnam as a model of local foreign affairs, demonstrating Ho Chi Minh City's pioneering role in effectively implementing the country's comprehensive foreign policy at the local level, in line with the spirit of foreign affairs as a crucial, regular task; thereby enhancing national position and realizing the goal of making Vietnam a reliable link in the global value chain.

Ho Chi Minh City currently has an extensive local-level foreign affairs network with friendly relations with 88 localities and nearly 20 international organizations and partners across continents. (Source: VNA)