Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Meta on July 31 in Singapore to support Vietnamese businesses in digital transformation and market expansion.
The document was signed by Vietrade Director Vu Ba Phu and Sarim Aziz, Meta's Director of Public Policy on the sidelines of the 10th ASEAN Conference themed ASEAN’s Future in a Fractured World organised by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) under the patronage of the Singapore Government and the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Under the agreement, the two sides will share expertise on trade promotion and digital tools, coordinate programmes supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and jointly organise promotional and communication activities.
The partnership will focus on helping SMEs, cooperatives, household businesses and industry associations use digital tools more effectively for product promotion, branding, business networking and domestic and international market access.
The MoU follows discussions between the two sides at Meta's Singapore office on July 30, where they agreed to launch digital skills training programmes and develop a cooperation roadmap for the remainder of 2026.
The first online training course is scheduled for mid-August in partnership with the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, followed by another programme in late August with the Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Association.
After the initial nationwide training phase, Vietrade and Meta plan to introduce specialised programmes for individual industries. Working with sectoral associations, they are expected to begin with the wood, textile and garment, and digital industries.
The agreement provides a concrete framework for turning bilateral cooperation into practical initiatives that will support Vietnamese businesses in accelerating digital transformation, strengthening competitiveness and expanding into new markets.
The 10th ASEAN Conference themed ASEAN’s Future in a Fractured World brought together government officials, business associations, financial institutions, corporations and investors to discuss geopolitical tensions, shifting trade policies, supply chain restructuring, digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), energy and sustainable development.
Speaking at the conference, Vietrade Director General Vu Ba Phu said ASEAN must maintain openness, strengthen regional connectivity and deepen practical cooperation amid growing global uncertainties. He noted that ASEAN serves not only as a key export market for Vietnam but also as an increasingly important production, investment and supply-chain network.
He highlighted the role of ASEAN trade agreements and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in expanding markets and facilitating cross-border production, adding that upgrading these frameworks and implementing the ASEAN Economic Community Strategic Plan 2026-2030 would further promote digital transformation, logistics, green growth and supply-chain resilience.
Phu stressed that the success of trade and investment cooperation should be measured not only by trade value or investment volume, but also by technology transfer, management capacity, workforce development and the ability of Vietnamese firms to move higher up regional and global value chains.
He said Vietnam is shifting towards a growth model driven by productivity, science and technology, innovation, digital transformation and green growth, creating opportunities in advanced manufacturing, electronics, semiconductors, AI, digital services, renewable energy, modern logistics and green technology. He encouraged foreign investors to build long-term partnerships with Vietnamese enterprises to generate higher value and strengthen supply-chain linkages.
As Vietnam's national trade promotion agency, Vietrade will continue helping businesses make better use of regional cooperation frameworks and free trade agreements, improve compliance with international standards, and strengthen links with importers, distributors and investors across the region, he stated./.
VNA
