Speaking at the plenary session of the Vietnam Logistics Forum 2026, held on the morning of November 7th in Quy Nhon, Gia Lai province, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc highly appreciated the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Gia Lai province, and other agencies, associations, and businesses for their meticulous coordination in organizing the Forum.
” The full attendance of representatives from ministries, departments, localities, associations, business communities, and domestic and international experts not only affirms the success of the Forum, but also clearly demonstrates the spirit of collaboration , determination to innovate, and aspiration to develop Vietnam’s logistics industry strongly, reaching regional and global levels, ” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc delivered a keynote address at the plenary session of the Vietnam Logistics Forum 2026. Vietnam’s logistics industry: Strong growth, with ever-expanding potential.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, logistics is an essential service sector that ensures the flow of goods, strengthens connections between stages in the supply chain, links production with consumption, and connects the domestic market with the international market. Smooth and efficient logistics helps reduce costs, boost production, expand exports, and enhance the competitiveness, adaptability, and self-reliance of the economy . Investing in logistics is investing in the country’s development capacity, bringing tangible benefits to businesses, workers, and the people.
The Deputy Prime Minister stated that the documents of the 14th National Party Congress, along with the resolutions of the Central Committee and the Politburo , have established a new growth model for the country in the new period. We need to set goals for developing the logistics industry to meet those requirements, contributing to achieving double-digit growth, building an independent and self-reliant economy linked to deep, substantive, and effective international integration.
Over the past period, with the involvement of the political system at all levels, sectors, and localities, the proactive and active participation of the business community, and the cooperation of international partners, Vietnam’s logistics sector has achieved many outstanding results.
Firstly, the development orientation is being concretized step by step. The Vietnam Logistics Service Development Strategy for the period 2025-2035, with a vision to 2050, identifies the development of logistics services as an important economic sector. National, regional, and provincial planning gradually identifies economic corridors, growth poles, seaports, airports, border gates, and industrial zones, creating a basis for organizing a logistics network linked to production and markets.
Secondly, the logistics industry maintains its growth momentum, contributing to serving the ever-increasing scale of trade. It is projected that in 2026, the industry will grow by approximately 14-16% per year, contributing about 4.5-5% to GDP. In the first 10 months of 2026, total import and export turnover exceeded US$1 trillion for the first time, reaching US$1,010.55 billion, with a large trade surplus of US$7.31 billion in October; total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue are estimated to increase by 14.7%; passenger transport and freight transport are expected to increase by 16.7% and 15.5% respectively. This scale demonstrates the growing demand for logistics services.
Thirdly, along with the breakthrough development of socio-economic infrastructure, the potential for development of Vietnam’s logistics industry is expanding. In the first 10 months of 2026, an additional 395 km of expressways were completed, the entire North-South Expressway (Eastern section) was put into operation, construction simultaneously commenced on 5 urban railway lines in Hanoi, and many important national projects and key transportation projects were implemented nationwide…
The capacity to organize, connect, and operate the supply chain is still limited.
However, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, alongside the achievements, we must frankly acknowledge that logistics capacity has not kept pace with the development requirements of the economy, as evidenced by several aspects such as: Logistics costs in the economy remain high, equivalent to 16-17% of GDP, while the world average is around 10-12%, increasing the cost of goods, reducing the competitiveness of businesses and the economy; the capacity to organize, connect, and operate supply chains is still limited. The connection between production areas, industrial parks, logistics centers with ports, railway stations, and border gates is not yet synchronized; international logistics connectivity is limited, and the ability to directly access markets is not high. Vietnamese businesses have not yet held a market share commensurate with their potential and market size; the ability to provide integrated services, participate in international networks, and high value-added stages is still weak…
Suggesting several reasons for the Forum’s focused discussion, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that the coordination of logistics development remains fragmented. Planning, investment, and service development have not been closely coordinated among sectors and localities. The responsibility for monitoring and addressing bottlenecks throughout the entire process is unclear, failing to correspondingly reduce the time and costs of the entire chain.
Infrastructure connectivity is also not yet synchronized with the organization of goods flow. The Deputy Prime Minister noted that many reports have long used transport volume as an indicator for evaluation, which does not accurately reflect the nature of the transport industry and may lead to inaccurate assessments. Instead, the indicator of goods turnover (ton.km) should be used.
In 2025, in terms of cargo volume, road transport accounted for 41.01%, sea and inland waterway transport accounted for 54.82% (of which sea transport accounted for 40.97%, inland waterway transport 13.85%), air transport accounted for 2.93% and rail transport 1.23%.
The Deputy Prime Minister posed the question: Where does the bottleneck lie among the various modes of transport? Is it in the areas of cargo consolidation, transshipment, delivery at both ends, and schedule coordination that are inadequate, reducing the advantages of the main mode of transport; or is the reason in the limited ability to gather a sufficiently large and stable supply of goods, making it difficult to maintain direct international routes and forcing goods to go through additional transit points?
The lack of interconnected procedures and data is also a problem that needs to be addressed. Administrative procedures and specialized inspections still involve multiple points of contact, with overlapping steps and prolonged processing times, especially at border crossings. Documents and data are not fully shared and reused between management agencies, ports, warehouses, and businesses.
Vietnamese logistics businesses are still limited in terms of scale, capital, technology, and management capacity. The linkages and cooperation between logistics businesses themselves and with manufacturing and import/export businesses are not strong, making it difficult to compete with international logistics corporations even in the domestic market.
The Deputy Prime Minister suggested that the Forum discuss in more detail the capabilities of Vietnamese businesses, especially in terms of capital, technology, human resources, partner networks, and linkages with manufacturing, import-export, and distribution businesses. ” Are these the limitations that cause many logistics businesses to mainly only handle individual stages, while orders are increasing but the market share and value held by Vietnamese businesses have not increased proportionally? “, the Deputy Prime Minister questioned.
Deputy Prime Minister: Along with the breakthrough development of the socio-economic infrastructure system, the potential for development of Vietnam’s logistics industry is expanding. Six key tasks and solutions for the coming period.
The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the Resolution of the 14th National Congress of the Party and the Central Committee’s Conclusion No. 18-KL/TW set the goal of achieving average “double-digit” economic growth in the 2026-2030 period, while maintaining macroeconomic stability, controlling inflation, and ensuring major economic balances; and transitioning to a new growth model with the development of science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation as the main driving forces. In particular, setting a target for logistics costs as a percentage of GDP to be reduced to 12-15% by 2030 is a very significant challenge.
General Secretary and President To Lam paid special attention to the development of the logistics sector and directly chaired a working session with the Party Committee, the Government, and relevant agencies on November 2, 2026, on the orientation for national logistics development and logistics infrastructure, with many important and specific directives. In particular, he emphasized that logistics must be identified as a strategic soft infrastructure, an important component of economic infrastructure, and a driving force for improving productivity, competitiveness, and the self-reliance of the economy. Logistics development must be placed within the overall national, regional, and infrastructure sector planning; based on the flow of goods, socio-economic efficiency, and overall national interests, and not limited by administrative boundaries.
In particular, the General Secretary and President emphasized the need for aspiration and determination to make Vietnam an important logistics, transit, and distribution center for the region and the world; and suggested several key directions and tasks regarding: (i) Improving institutions and enhancing coordination efficiency; (ii) Developing infrastructure and connecting economic corridors; (iii) Developing logistics enterprises and markets; (iv) Promoting digital transformation and forming a shared logistics data system; (v) Developing green logistics and enhancing resilience; and (iv) Ensuring resources and monitoring implementation. This can be considered a “guiding principle” for the logistics industry.
The Deputy Prime Minister suggested focusing on several key tasks and solutions in the coming period.
Firstly, it is necessary to improve the institutional framework and immediately establish a national logistics coordination mechanism. The Ministry of Industry and Trade should focus on reviewing and improving the institutional framework and policy mechanisms for the development of the logistics industry, with a focus on Decree No. 163/2017/ND-CP; it should take the lead in submitting to the Prime Minister in December 2026 a plan to establish a National Steering Committee on Logistics Development, directly headed by a government leader; the Ministry of Industry and Trade will be the permanent agency, with a sufficiently strong specialized support unit, and clear inter-sectoral and inter-regional regulations and authority. The role of Vietnamese logistics associations should be promoted, and more local logistics associations should be developed soon, linked with industry associations and international associations.
Secondly, the Ministry of Construction, in coordination with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and local authorities, will review the connection between ports and border gates with logistics centers, industrial parks, and production areas to organize infrastructure networks according to cargo flows; in the first quarter of 2027, a list of bottlenecks, resources, and timelines will be compiled. Centers will be selected based on cargo sources, multimodal connectivity, and efficiency; reducing reliance on road transport and increasing reliance on rail, waterway, and coastal transport.
Regarding Gia Lai, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that it is a strategically important locality in the Central Highlands region, and it is necessary to connect the western raw material areas with the Quy Nhon coastal gateway, forming a stable processing, preservation, and export chain. The Deputy Prime Minister said that the Government is directing the development of strategic roads in the Central Highlands, connecting with the border and other regions throughout the country.
Thirdly, the Ministry of Finance, together with other specialized ministries, will organize border gate inspections based on a single point of contact, a single file system, a single data system, a set of risk criteria, and a channeling mechanism to facilitate trade and enhance resilience; increase post-inspection and reduce duplication. Expand electronic documents and the ASEAN Customs Transit System. The Ministry of Industry and Trade will leverage the FTA with logistics and cross-border e-commerce; address transportation issues, empty containers, and transit goods between Vietnam and Laos in the first quarter of 2027.
Fourth, promote digital transformation, green transformation, and proactively respond to supply chain disruptions. The Ministry of Industry and Trade will pilot connecting and utilizing the national logistics database in 2027, standardizing documents and reducing repetitive declarations. Technology will be applied to optimize routes, reduce empty vehicle runs and inventory. Ministries will provide guidance on measuring energy savings, reducing emissions, and preparing alternative routes and backup warehouses to ensure the flow of essential goods.
Fifth, enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese logistics businesses, especially in terms of human resources and other resources. The Ministry of Industry and Trade will connect logistics businesses with shippers, manufacturers, and distributors to consolidate stable supply sources, develop comprehensive services, cold chain management, and expand international networks. The Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Interior will coordinate with businesses to train human resources according to actual needs. The Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam will support feasible projects in accessing capital according to market principles.
Sixth, elevate the Logistics Development Strategy and measure its implementation results. The Ministry of Industry and Trade will evaluate one year of the Strategy’s implementation, clarifying achievements, shortcomings, limitations, and bottlenecks in infrastructure connectivity, specialized inspections, logistics centers, and data sharing; and propose elevating the Strategy within the overall context of the country’s new development requirements, especially the goal of double-digit growth and building national logistics capacity linked to international integration.
The Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that the Government is committed to continuing to promptly and effectively address the recommendations of businesses, building a favorable, open, transparent, and fair competitive investment environment to promote the development of businesses in general and logistics businesses in particular.
” With the shared determination and concrete actions of all of us, Vietnam’s logistics industry will develop strongly, participate more deeply in the global supply chain, and make a worthy contribution to the double-digit growth target and the rapid and sustainable development of the country, ” the Deputy Prime Minister confidently stated.