Hoang Minh Chien, Deputy Director General, Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE), Ministry of Industry and Trade, shared innovative trade promotion solutions for 2025 with Hanoimoi Newspaper.

Hoang Minh Chien, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency. Photo: VIETRADE

What trade facilitation solutions will be prioritized to achieve growth targets in 2025?

In 2025, our trade promotion will focus on green, environmentally friendly products to contribute to the green transformation and help businesses to become more competitive in the new context, enabling them to engage deeply and effectively in the global value chain.

The department will enhance the competitiveness of enterprises through consultancy programs that provide updated market information to enable Vietnamese enterprises to improve their competitiveness in accessing international markets. We will provide training on trade promotion skills and the use of information technology in trade promotion.

In addition, we will intensify the promotion of the national brand, products that have achieved national brand status, as well as industry brands and geographical indications on various platforms to create a ripple effect. Support for the protection of trademarks and geographical indications of Vietnamese products such as rice, coffee and seafood in foreign markets will also be strengthened.

This year, trade promotion will be extended to more markets, making effective use of the market-opening opportunities offered by Free Trade Agreements to boost exports to key trading partners, while exploring new and potential ones.

Our trade promotion activities focus on key market groups and priority products, aligning with global economic trends and seizing both international and domestic market opportunities.

What difficulties have recently affected trade promotion activities?

First, the organizational model of local trade promotion agencies is inconsistent, making coordination between central and local levels a challenge. In addition, the budget for trade promotion is finite and not in line with export growth. This hampers large-scale trade promotion activities and is not commensurate with the opportunities offered by trade agreements.

Furthermore, many industry associations and trade promotion organizations have not innovated their trade promotion efforts and lack long-term support plans. Enterprises struggle with market research and have insufficient overseas trade promotion skills, while their product development and diversification have not kept pace with market demands. Moreover, awareness of the role of the national brand is uneven, and communication and promotion activities are not synchronized, resulting in low effectiveness.

What are the steps that Vietnamese companies can take to respond effectively to market changes and improve their trade performance?

How did Vietnam's trade promotion activities fare in 2024?

In 2024, trade promotion activities underwent a significant transformation, driven by the launch of the National Program on Trade Promotion, the National Brand Program, and the Digital Transformation Program in Trade Promotion.

Hundreds of large-scale international, national and regional trade promotion events were organized both at home and in key export markets, including those that signed new-generation free trade agreements with Vietnam as well as other potential markets.

Close cooperation among relevant ministries has been evident, as exemplified by Vietnam's first fruit festival in Beijing, China, which brought positive impacts to Vietnam's largest fruit import market.

Vietnamese fruits are displayed at the “Vietnamese Fruits - Delicious All Year Round” festival in Beijing, China. Photo: Cong thuong magazine

The agency has supported Vietnamese enterprises to participate in foreign and domestic trade fairs, such as the Vietnam International Food Industry Exhibition 2024, the Vietnam International Garment and Textile Technology Exhibition 2024, and the Exhibition of One Commune One Product (OCOP) Export Products 2024.

In addition, we have organized a series of overseas trade missions to connect businesses and industries with different markets.

The National Trade Promotion Program 2024 has benefited nearly 6,000 companies, cooperatives and local trade promotion organizations, resulting in nearly US$100 million in contracts and tens of thousands of dollars in domestic sales.

This has increased brand awareness, improved product competitiveness, and facilitated the flow of Vietnamese goods, allowing businesses to strengthen their international connections and integrate into global value chains.

What were the achievements of the National Brand Program in 2024?

In 2024, despite a complex and unpredictable global landscape, Vietnam's national brand value soared to $507 billion, securing 32nd place among 193 countries - an uptick of one place and a 2% increase from 2023. This growth was largely driven by prominent companies such as Viettel, Vinaphone, MobiFone, Vietcombank, and VinFast.

Driven by the global trends of green transformation, digital transformation, circular economy and sustainable development, all activities of the National Brand Program 2024 are closely linked to the government's strategy and have received strong support from various levels, sectors and society.

What specific digital transformation initiatives were undertaken in trade promotion last year?

In 2024, the department worked with local experts to create a digital trade promotion ecosystem that includes various IT applications that meet technological standards and ensure smooth operation, upgrades, and connectivity.

Some cornerstone components of the digital trade promotion ecosystem that have been and are being developed include the information management and operation system (Vietrade CRM), the online training system (Vietrade Edu), the blockchain-based origin tracing system (iTrace 247), the map of Vietnamese agricultural products (Vietrade Map), and software for organizing conferences, seminars, and trade promotion events (Event Automation).

The department has also collaborated with the e-commerce platform Alibaba.com (part of China’s Alibaba Group) to launch the Vietnam National Pavilion on Alibaba.com.

Vietnamese enterprises participating in the pavilion benefit from technical support, consulting and training, as well as promotion and introduction of the pavilion to domestic and international organizations and enterprises through reputable media, thereby increasing brand awareness and connecting Vietnamese enterprises with partners.

Thank you for your time.