Vietnamese Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng received World Economic Forum (WEF) Managing Director Stephan Mergenthaler on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Autumn Economic Forum 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City.
PM Hưng thanked Mergenthaler and WEF partners for their longstanding cooperation with Việt Nam and their contributions to making the Autumn Economic Forum an open and substantive platform for dialogue among governments, businesses and the scientific community.
He noted that policy exchanges, experience sharing and technology showcases over the past two days reflected the international community’s interest in and confidence in Việt Nam, particularly its innovation agenda and Ho Chi Minh City as a key growth hub. These activities also opened opportunities to build partnerships and identify new growth drivers.
Mergenthaler congratulated Việt Nam and Ho Chi Minh City on the successful organisation of the forum. He said he was impressed by Việt Nam’s long-term vision and efforts to sustain growth through science, technology, innovation and a dynamic private sector, and affirmed WEF’s desire to strengthen cooperation with the country.
Looking towards 2027, when Việt Nam will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, WEF stands ready to establish a high-level cooperation mechanism to mobilise private-sector and international support for Việt Nam’s priorities, he said.
Thanking WEF for its effective support, particularly its cooperation with Ho Chi Minh City in establishing the Việt Nam Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), the Vietnamese Government leader described the initiative as timely and well aligned with digital transformation and technological trends.
He stressed that Việt Nam is pursuing strategic breakthroughs to achieve rapid and sustainable economic growth, with the private sector playing a particularly important role. Priorities include institutional reform, the adoption of international standards, protection of investors’ legitimate rights, infrastructure development and high-quality human resources.
The Government leader called on WEF to continue facilitating knowledge sharing, technology transfer, capital mobilisation and connections between international corporations and Vietnamese businesses, particularly private enterprises.
He also expressed his appreciation for the outcomes of the 2023–2026 cooperation framework between Việt Nam and WEF and called for close coordination to develop and sign a strategic cooperation framework for the next period, promoting effective public-private partnerships for regional and global development.
Sources: Viet Nam News
