More effort asked for stronger logistics industry

Hanoi (VNA) – “It is necessary to make more effort and measures to improve competitiveness of Vietnamese logistics firms.”, said Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh at the Vietnam Logistics Forum 2017 in Hanoi on December 15.

In his speech, the minister noted that logistics should be considered as an “infrastructure service sector”, adding that the domestic industry is facing heaps of difficulties, such as the loose coordination among relevant sectors, weak transport and IT infrastructure, and a shortage of qualified human resources.

He asked participants at the forum to propose solutions to help the sector develop in a sustainable manner, thus contributing to renovating the growth model and restructuring the national economy.

Minister Anh urged ministries, sectors and localities to forge cooperation in the work, focusing on building and upgrading transport and IT infrastructure network and logistics centres in connection with key economic areas and with other countries in the region and the larger world.

Ministries and sectors were required to look for ways to improve the quality of human resources, towards meeting requirements of the logistics sector in the context of international economic integration.

According to Ousman Dione, Country Director for the World Bank in Vietnam, basing on the GDP ratio, Vietnam’s logistics cost is 18 percent, almost twice as high as those of developed economies, and 4 percent higher than the global average rate.

He said while the country is emerging as a global industrial centre and one of the most attractive destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI), attracting about 35 billion USD in registered capital in 2017, Vietnam is still doing the work with the least added value in the global value chain. Therefore, Vietnam needs a solution to improve export efficient towards its vision to become an upper middle income country.

Ousman Dione noted that the Vietnamese Government and the private economic sector need to outline a specific roadmap to improve the quality of logistics service, thus meeting demand of the country’s increasingly modern economy.

The WB is ready to support Vietnam in developing and improving competitiveness of the country’s logistics industry, he affirmed, adding that the bank will provide technical and financial assistance for Vietnam as well.

In the framework of the forum, the Ministry of Industry and Trade officially released the Vietnam Logistics Report 2017 and inaugurated a portal at www.logistics.gov.vn.

The forum also witnessed the signing of five strategic and comprehensive cooperation agreements among enterprises, associations and universities, which aim to create breakthroughs in logistics development in the coming time.-VNA