At the press conference of the 3rd Ho Chi Minh City Friendship Dialogue in 2026 (Friendship Dialogue - FD 2026) on September 4, Mr. Pham Dut Diem - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs said that FD 2026 will take place on September 10-12 in Vung Tau ward (Ho Chi Minh City) with the theme "Local Foreign Affairs: Driving Force for Innovation and Sustainable Growth".
36 local delegations and international partners attend
FD 2026 is expected to gather nearly 500 domestic and international delegates including leaders of central ministries and sectors, leaders of Ho Chi Minh City, leaders of southern provinces/cities, local delegations, international organizations, consular agencies, business associations and many economic, scientific and technological experts at home and abroad.
As of September 3, the event has confirmation of participation from 36 local delegations and international partners, covering continents including Asia, Europe, America and Oceania.
According to Mr. Pham Dut Diem, Ho Chi Minh City, as the economic locomotive of the country and a locality with an increasingly expanded international cooperation network, continuing to innovate foreign thinking, promoting the effectiveness of cooperation mechanisms with localities and international partners is of particular importance. This is not only a requirement of the international integration process, but also a solution for the city to mobilize external resources to serve development goals, especially in the fields of science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, logistics, marine economy and high-quality human resource development.
After the merger, Ho Chi Minh City not only expands its space and population, but also increases the total number of international localities that have twin relations with Ho Chi Minh City from 58 to 88 localities in the world.
Discussing multilateral mechanisms to promote logistics and marine economy
This year's program will include the Mayors' Conference, thematic discussions on innovation and port and logistics development, along with networking, exchanges and field surveys.
The highlight of this year's program is the discussion of the possibility of establishing a multilateral mechanism of Ho Chi Minh City. This is a city-level multilateral cooperation mechanism to exchange experiences, share information and coordinate to solve common issues on seaport development; promote logistics connectivity, share management experiences and develop sustainable supply chains, creating new impetus for local-level multilateral cooperation in the next phase.
On this occasion, the city also launched a new look of the Ho Chi Minh City International Friendship Symbol at Ben Bach Dang Park. This is a copper Mobius circular block project, symbolizing the strong connection, peace and endless development between the city and international friends. The project originated from an initiative at FD 2022, announced design at FD 2024 and inaugurated in 2025.
Ho Chi Minh City Friendship Dialogue is an international event chaired by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee since 2022 with the aim of consolidating and deepening the friendly cooperative relationship between Ho Chi Minh City and sister localities and international partners.
This year's event will contribute to promoting practical cooperation initiatives for the goal of innovation and sustainable growth; at the same time, it is an effective step in implementing Resolution No. 09-NQ/TW dated May 19, 2026 of the Politburo on building and developing the city in the new era, implementing the strategy to elevate the foreign affairs of Ho Chi Minh City to 2030, vision 2045; promoting economic diplomacy, multilateral diplomacy; contributing to promoting socio-economic development in key areas.
