Ho Chi Minh City seeks to partner with France for a comprehensive digital future

The French Tech Summit Vietnam 2025 brought together over 1,000 delegates, including policymakers, business leaders, investors, startups, and technology experts from France and Vietnam. Notably, the event coincided with the state visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Vietnam.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, Ho Chi Minh City possesses significant advantages in policy mechanisms, economic scale, technological infrastructure, and human resources. The city aims to become a modern service-industrial urban area, a leading economic, financial, and scientific-technological center in Southeast Asia by 2030, and a pioneer in Vietnam's digital economy and society.

To achieve this goal, Ho Chi Minh City is intensifying research and application of science and technology across various sectors, from developing digital infrastructure and key industries to prioritizing digital transformation and leveraging the achievements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The focus areas include artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, blockchain, and next-generation biotechnology. The city has implemented numerous policies to support innovative enterprises, such as corporate income tax exemptions and reductions, assistance with research and development costs, and commercialization of high-tech products.

The city's innovative startup ecosystem currently ranks 110th globally and third in Southeast Asia, with aspirations to enter the global top 100 and establish 5,000 innovative enterprises in the near future. Presently, Ho Chi Minh City hosts over 1,500 active startups, many of which have secured investments from international funds like 500 Startups, IDG Ventures, and VinaCapital Ventures. Prominent sectors include financial technology (fintech), online education (edtech), digital healthcare (healthtech), and environmental technology. Incubation centers such as Saigon Innovation Hub, Ho Chi Minh City Hi-Tech Park, and university-based incubators play a vital role in supporting startup ideas.

Ho Chi Minh City is eager to learn from pioneering countries like France in building flexible institutions, financial policies that encourage innovation, and developing effective public-private partnerships. The city particularly seeks to expand cooperation with France in developing the Ho Chi Minh City Innovation Startup Center, promoting the commercialization of scientific research, and strengthening connections between Vietnamese and French universities and enterprises. Collaborations between major Vietnamese universities, such as Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, and Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, with French research centers will enhance research capacity, teaching quality, and the implementation of high-application digital transformation projects.

Additionally, Ho Chi Minh City aims to effectively utilize support mechanisms from France, such as the FASEP Fund, the Expertise France program, and the AVSE Global expert network, to accelerate digital transformation. AVSE Global experts are playing a crucial role in advising policies and long-term development strategies for the city in areas like smart urban planning, sustainable transportation, and urban data management. The cooperation program with Expertise France in renewable energy and green urban development is also expected to yield significant results.

"Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular are ready to embrace waves of high-tech investment and knowledge, becoming a vital link in the global supply chain of high-value industries," Mr. Dung emphasized. Key sectors identified with substantial potential include semiconductors, biotechnology, precision medical equipment, and clean energy. The city aims to attract multinational corporations to establish R&D centers, accompanied by commitments to technology transfer and high-quality human resource training.

On this occasion, Ho Chi Minh City leaders also invited international partners to participate in the upcoming Ho Chi Minh City Economic Forum in November, themed "AI – From Technology to Practice," to continue dialogues, share experiences, and foster deeper cooperation. The forum is expected to attract over 2,000 domestic and international delegates, featuring in-depth discussions on pillars such as AI applications in manufacturing, public services, education, and healthcare. The city also hopes to sign memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with strategic partners from France and Europe during this event.

Mr. Nguyen Van Dung asserted that the French Tech Summit Vietnam 2025 is not only a convergence of technological waves shaping the future global economy, such as artificial intelligence, green technology, biotechnology, and financial technology, but also a crucial bridge between the two nations in creating breakthrough solutions for a comprehensive and sustainable digital future.