Selectively attract FDI
On May 13, in Hanoi, the 6th Vietnam Development Bridge Forum 2026 (Vietnam Connect Forum 2026) was held with the theme "The foreign-invested economy and the domestic economy join forces to create sustainable growth momentum in the new period".
Speaking at the forum, Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang said that in 2025 and the first months of 2026, although the international situation still has many complex and unpredictable fluctuations, Vietnam's socio-economy continues to achieve many important and quite comprehensive results.
However, besides the achieved results, the Deputy Prime Minister also frankly acknowledged that the quality and effectiveness of linkages between the FDI sector and the domestic economic sector have not yet reached expectations. In fact, many Vietnamese enterprises are still participating in the low value-added segment; the localization rate in some industries is still limited; the absorption capacity of domestic enterprises has not kept up with the requirements of the global supply chain.
Vietnam has achieved positive results in attracting foreign investment capital, but the requirement in the new period is to further improve the quality of cooperation, spread and synergy between the FDI sector and the domestic economy.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that in the coming time, the Vietnamese Government will focus on implementing 5 major orientations.
First, continue to promote the completion of institutions, strongly improve the investment and business environment, shift from management thinking to development-oriented thinking. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the Government will continue to substantially cut down on administrative procedures and investment and business conditions; promote decentralization and delegation of power in parallel with strengthening supervision; promote comprehensive digitalization and effectively implement the one-stop mechanism, improve transparency, stability and forecasting capacity of policies.
Second, innovate the direction of attracting foreign investment in a selective direction, taking quality, technology, innovation, added value, land use efficiency, environmental protection and linkage with domestic enterprises as the main criteria.
Third, strongly develop domestic enterprises and supporting industries so that Vietnamese enterprises can participate more deeply in the global value chain. The Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that this is a long-term strategic task. The State will continue to have policies to support enterprises to improve management capacity, quality standards, technology innovation, digital transformation, access to credit and connect with multinational corporations.
Fourth, focus on developing strategic infrastructure and high-quality human resources to serve the attraction of new generation FDI. The Government is drastically implementing strategic transport infrastructure, logistics infrastructure, energy, digital infrastructure, data, and new generation industrial park projects; and strongly promoting links between the State, schools, and investors to train human resources to meet the requirements of high-tech and strategic industries.
Fifth, improve the effectiveness and efficiency of state management of the FDI sector, ensuring harmony between the interests of the state, investors and people, maintaining independence, self-reliance, economic security and sustainable development.
The Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam will create the most favorable conditions for investors to operate in accordance with the law, effectively and sustainably, but also resolutely handle transfer pricing, trade fraud, environmental violations, use of outdated technology, and intellectual property violations.
Vietnam is an attractive destination for FDI capital
At the forum, Mr. Hoang Van Cuong - Vice President of the Vietnam Economic Science Association - said that in the context of increasingly fierce strategic competition between major economies, along with the trend of supply chain restructuring and shifting global investment capital flows, Vietnam is emerging as an attractive destination thanks to a stable policy environment, a dynamic economy, a strategic position in the regional supply chain and a network of new generation free trade agreements.
According to Mr. Hoang Van Cuong, after nearly 40 years of renovation, the FDI sector has become an important part of the Vietnamese economy, contributing about 20% of GDP, more than 70% of export turnover and creating direct jobs for millions of workers.
However, he also said that the level of linkage between the FDI sector and domestic enterprises is still limited; the localization rate in many industries is still low; the number of Vietnamese enterprises participating deeply in the global value chain is not large. Technology transfer activities and spillover effects to the domestic economic sector have not reached expectations.
From that reality, the Vice President of the Vietnam Economic Science Association believes that Vietnam's orientation is to form a "new generation of FDI", not only bringing investment capital but also bringing knowledge, technology and modern management capacity; and at the same time strengthening cooperation and close links with domestic enterprises to develop together.
