Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Van Duoc met with Managing Director of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Stephan Mergenthaler on the sidelines of the Autumn Economic Forum 2026 (AEF 2026) on October 28 to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation with the southern metropolis.
Duoc thanked Mergenthaler for attending the third AEF and praised the WEF’s support and cooperation, which helped the forum achieve initial success and fulfil its objectives.
He said the AEF 2026, themed around the convergence of new growth drivers, serves as a bridge connecting Vietnam with the international community, businesses with one another, and businesses with authorities.
The presentation of membership certificates of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Ho Chi Minh City (C4IR) to 10 founding members, along with investment registration certificates to 10 projects worth billions of USD, stands as the clearest evidence of the forum’s success, he stressed.
Through a message delivered by Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, Vietnam affirms that it is not only a destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) but also a partner for cooperation and investment, he said.
Ho Chi Minh City hopes the WEF will continue promoting this message among the global investment community. It also expects the WEF’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Summer Davos in China and Autumn Forum in Vietnam to form a more comprehensive and in-depth ecosystem.
Mergenthaler expressed his pleasure at returning to Ho Chi Minh City for AEF 2026, praising the forum’s scale and atmosphere and expressing confidence in the city’s development prospects.
He also highlighted PM Hung’s keynote speech, describing the forum’s continued positive development as a meaningful milestone in the city’s ambitious vision for the future.
The WEF is keen to maintain cooperation with Ho Chi Minh City through C4IR and other joint activities, making practical contributions to the city's development goals, he said.
Mergenthaler took the occasion to invite the city’s leaders to attend the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2027, alongside Vietnamese Government leaders, to mark the long-standing and enduring partnership between the two sides.
Regarding the city’s proposal to coordinate the AEF 2027 with the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting 2027 hosted by Vietnam in Phu Quoc, Mergenthaler affirmed the WEF’s readiness to provide support, particularly in connecting and convening high-level meetings within the APEC framework.
He said such coordination will offer an opportunity to build on the cooperation model developed by Ho Chi Minh City and elevate relations between the city and the WEF, as APEC attracts considerable international attention./.
