Promoting trade promotion and expanding export opportunities

On the afternoon of March 15, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Minister Le Manh Hung held a working session with the Trade Promotion Agency to review the implementation of tasks during the first four months of the year and discuss orientations for the period ahead.

Reporting at the meeting, Director of the Trade Promotion Agency Vu Ba Phu said that during the first four months of 2026, the Agency had taken the lead in drafting three Decrees, one Decision of the Prime Minister, and two Circulars related to trade promotion activities and the National Brand Program. These legal documents were issued and submitted to competent authorities on schedule.

Alongside institutional work, the 2026 National Trade Promotion Program is being implemented with 95 projects under Decision No.3838/QD-BCT. By the end of April, 13 projects had been carried out, focusing on supporting industry associations in participating in major international trade fairs and specialized exhibitions around the world.

The Agency successfully organized several major events, including the First Spring Fair 2026, the Vietnam International Trade Fair for Apparel, Textiles and Textile Technologies (VIATT 2026), the 35th Vietnam International Trade Fair (Vietnam Expo 2026), overseas trade exchange activities, and the Vietnam National Brand Week 2026.

The Agency is also implementing the 10th National Brand selection process, with the official announcement expected at the end of August 2026.

In the coming period, the Trade Promotion Agency will focus on several key tasks, including further diversifying export and import markets; enhancing trade promotion activities in markets covered by free trade agreements (FTAs); boosting on-site exports by welcoming international purchasing delegations to Vietnam; and mobilizing socialized resources for organizing international trade fairs and exhibitions.

At the meeting, representatives of various units under the Ministry discussed and exchanged views on key tasks to be implemented by the Trade Promotion Agency in the coming period. They also proposed a number of solutions and coordination mechanisms between the Agency and relevant units to improve operational efficiency.

Trade promotion must “pave the way” for growth and market restructuring

Concluding the meeting, Minister Le Manh Hung acknowledged that trade promotion activities had contributed to boosting exports, domestic consumption, and the overall growth performance of the Industry and Trade sector in 2025 as well as during the first four months of 2026.

The Minister stressed that in the current context, trade promotion should go beyond simple connection-building activities and be placed in a more strategic position, genuinely serving as a mechanism to “pave the way,” activate markets, and create momentum for expanding growth space for businesses.

To better fulfill assigned tasks, the Minister requested that trade promotion activities closely align with strategies for developing both domestic and international markets, while remaining strongly linked to export-import growth targets, retail development, and consumption expansion.

He also called on the Agency to strengthen and elevate the National Trade Promotion Program in line with Vietnam’s new economic standing. Accordingly, trade promotion activities should move away from fragmented and small-scale approaches toward larger-scale, more professional models closely connected to global value chains, high technology, green energy, and innovation.

The Minister noted that the Trade Promotion Agency should develop a portfolio of large-scale trade promotion activities with strong spillover effects, focusing on strategic industries and potential markets. Trade promotion efforts should directly contribute to expanding new markets, reducing dependence on several traditional markets, and supporting trade balance objectives.

According to the Minister, in addition to key markets such as the United States, China, the European Union, and ASEAN, Vietnam still has substantial room for growth in emerging markets including India, the Middle East, Africa, and other promising regions. These markets are expected to become new growth drivers for Vietnamese exports in the coming years.

Regarding long-term development strategy, the Minister agreed with the proposal to formulate the Vietnam National Brand Strategy to 2035, with a vision toward 2045. He emphasized that trade promotion activities in the new period should not be limited to trade promotion alone, but should instead be integrated with investment promotion and industrial promotion within the broader integrated strategy for the country’s industrial, energy, and trade development.

The Minister also requested the Trade Promotion Agency to strengthen coordination among units both within and outside the Ministry of Industry and Trade, particularly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnam’s trade offices abroad, in order to make more effective use of available resources for market development.

On digital transformation, the Minister stressed the need to accelerate the application of digital technologies, digital data, and shared platforms in trade promotion activities. The Ministry of Industry and Trade will build a shared database system and common data warehouse to facilitate connectivity and information sharing across sectors, thereby avoiding data fragmentation and increasing management costs.

The Minister further instructed relevant units to proactively conduct research, strengthen forecasting capacity, and improve institutional frameworks to meet the new development requirements of trade promotion activities amid rapidly evolving global economic conditions.