Potential of Vietnamese logistics industry earns international appreciation

A delegation of the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA) led by Nguyen Duy Minh, general secretary of the VLA, attended the 2023 World Congress of the Federation of International Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) which opened at the Brussels Convention Centre in Belgium on October 4.

The event featured the participation of nearly 1,000 delegates from the forwarding, transportation and cargo industries, as well as observers from various other fields.

FIATA World Congress 2023 (FWC 2023) represents an international event which provides business, social, and networking opportunities, as well as interaction with both government and non-government organisations.

During the three-day conference, from October 4 to October 6, famous speakers gave presentations, as well as holding discussions on current issues and policies.

Opening with the theme of "The Changing Climate of Logistics", the FIATA World Congress 2023 covers some of the latest challenges, innovations, and developments in a changing global market.

FWC 2023 focuses on new trends in global logistics, education, compliance, diversity, and the logistics industry's responsibility in adapting to climate change.

Participating in this event, the Vietnamese delegation hopes to widely promote FWC 2025 which will take place in the nation, attract companies to register to engage in the event, as well as approaching Belgian logistics businesses, a strong country in this field.

Minh said that the association’s hopes for this conference is to promote FWC 2025 and attract customers, thereby helping members gain access to all logistics companies globally.

Through the event, the VLA have tried to contact the Belgian Logistics Association, as well as the Flanders regional government in order to exchange and discuss solutions aimed at helping both Vietnamese and Belgian businesses closely co-operate with each other as Belgium is the centre of Europe and also a commercial hub of Europe and Africa.

Minh expressed hope that Vietnamese export service companies can form joint ventures alongside Belgian partners in order to establish a Vietnamese logistics centre in the Central European country.

This represents an excellent opportunity to reduce transportation costs as a contribution to promoting Vietnamese goods into Europe, as well as transshipment to Africa.

Anis Khan, CEO of Intrapass GmbH, headquartered in Switzerland, said that last year he went to Vietnam and saw the great potential of the logistics industry.

In particular, logistics activities receive support from the Government, with these advantages helping to strongly develop the logistics service industry in the near future.

Assessing the prospects of this field, Stéphane Graber, director general of FIATA, said he had recently conducted a survey trip to Vietnam last summer to prepare for FWC to be held in the nation in 2025.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, certain activities are being reallocated in Asia and one of the destinations for logistics activities is Vietnam. In addition, the country not only benefits from all modes of air, sea, and rail transport but also river transport, all of which are advantages for building a regional logistics centre, he went on.

The nation is applying the best practices in logistics development, whilst having a real need for development, expertise, and internal training, Graber said, adding that FIAT will co-ordinate efforts with VLA to provide logistics training.

As a means of developing the logistics industry, Le Duy Minh, secretary general of the VLA, said that the Government should pay attention to the social impact regarding the importance of logistics services.

The VLA in particular has made great efforts with its socialisation resources to proactively campaign with its members since 2019 in Capetown, South Africa, and in 2022 in Busan in the Republic of Korea, to successfully win the right to host FWC 2025.

Amid the current global context, the trend of shifting international production and many factories moving production to the country has created favourable conditions for the logistics industry.

Moreover, trade agreements implemented with 16 countries, along with potential of trade with the US, can be viewed as major advantages which indicate the country’s logistics service industry will certainly have great opportunities to further develop in the time ahead.