Experts at the Forum agreed that green transformation and the circular economy represent the only viable path for Vietnam to achieve high growth in tandem with sustainable development in the digital era

The Vietnam Economy in 2025 and Prospects in 2026 Forum
(VEPF) was held  in Hanoi on December 16,
with the Government and the Party Central
Committee’s Commission for Policies and Strategies acting as co-host.

In his opening speech, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nghi,  member of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Policy and Strategy, stated that the VEPF is an important annual event that attracts the participation of policy-making agencies, the business community, diplomatic missions, international organizations, and research institutes.

The event this year  attracted more than 500 delegates in person and over 1,000 online participants from all the 34 cities and provinces nationwide.

During the thematic session on finance and banking, discussions focused on solutions for financial resources
and economic growth targets in the 2026-2030 period, with effective mobilization
of financial resources identified as a key prerequisite for the country to realize
its target of double-digit economic growth during the period.

In his remarks, Mr. Pham Thanh Ha, Deputy Governor of the State
Bank of Vietnam, said  that the Party and
the State have set a target of achieving at least 8% economic growth in 2025
and moving towards double-digit growth in the 2026–2030 period.

This will provide a crucial foundation for Vietnam to join
the group of upper-middle-income countries by 2030 and progress towards becoming
a high-income country by 2045, according to Mr. Ha.

He noted that one of the decisive challenges for achieving
high growth is ensuring sufficiently large capital resources for the economy,
while using them efficiently to promote a growth model driven by science and
innovation.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Finance Do Thanh Trung
affirmed that while mobilizing sufficient capital is a major task, allocating
it to the right priorities and ensuring effective use to generate high added
value must be given top priority.

Dr Can Van Luc, Chief Economist of BIDV and a member of the
National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council, for his part,  presented a paper on breakthrough solutions to
mobilize financial resources for high growth in the 2026–2030 period. He noted
that the development model in the coming phase needs to shift from one that is
heavily dependent on capital and labor to one driven more by science,
technology, innovation, and productivity.

Participants reached a common agreement that the capital
market needs to be developed as the primary channel for mobilizing medium- and
long-term resources for the economy, easing pressure on the banking credit
system. Strengthening coordination between fiscal and monetary policies is
crucial to maintaining macroeconomic stability, controlling inflation and
supporting high growth amid rising risks. In addition, significant improvements
in the investment and business environment, together with institutional reform
and the development of a stable legal framework, were identified as solutions
to attract and retain long-term, high-quality financial resources.

At the session on the circular economy, Mr. Pham Dai Duong,
Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Policies and
Strategies, stressed that to realize strategic development goals, Vietnam needs
a strong push to innovate its growth model. He said the new model must be
sustainable, comprehensive and inclusive, focusing not only on speed but also
on quality, efficiency and competitiveness. Its core lies in transformative
shifts, including digital transformation to build a digital economy and digital
society, and green transformation to ensure harmonious development with nature,
adapt to climate change, and fulfill international commitments, particularly
the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

He affirmed that digital and green transitions are objective
requirements of development. These two processes are closely interconnected and
mutually reinforcing, forming a “dual transition” that will serve as a global
growth driver for decades to come. He also highlighted that the circular
economy, as a key driver of green transformation in the digital era and closely
linked with science, technology, innovation and digital transformation, has
been identified as a strategic pillar of the new growth model.

Meanwhile,  Deputy
Minister of Agriculture and Environment Le Cong Thanh said Vietnam has
established a relatively comprehensive orientation framework and legal corridor
for the development of the green and circular economy. The merger of the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development with the Ministry of Natural Resources
and Environment reflects a shift towards integrated management thinking based
on ecological space, closely linking resources and climate, and creating an
important foundation for promoting sustainable green economic development.

However, he noted that Vietnam’s green transition still
faces numerous challenges, as many enterprises, cooperatives, and farmers
continue to rely on traditional practices and face constraints in capital,
technology, and governance capacity. Meanwhile, emerging markets such as carbon
and biodiversity credit markets have yet to operate in a synchronized manner.

 Ms. Francesca
Nardini, Deputy Resident Representative of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam, for her part,  said international forecasts indicate that the
circular economy could help Vietnam reduce 30–34% of urban waste and cut 40–70%
of greenhouse gas emissions during the 2030–2060 period, while creating jobs
and reducing dependence on imported raw materials. She added that UNDP recommends
implementing the circular economy through pilot models to quantify risks and
benefits before scaling up.

Experts at the Forum agreed that green transformation and
the circular economy represent the only viable path for Vietnam to achieve high
growth in tandem with sustainable development in the digital era.

The potential and measures for advancing the circular
economy were also the focus at a panel discussion of the forum.

A
representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was quoted by
the Vietnam News Agency as saying that Vietnam still has substantial room to
improve resource efficiency, cut waste, and promote industries that create
green value. The consumer plastics sector, for example, generates large volumes
of plastic waste but has yet to fully utilize these materials, while the
country continues to import significant quantities of scrap each year. Better
use of domestic waste streams could considerably accelerate the development of
the circular economy.

Vietnam
generates around 25 million tones of solid waste annually, while agricultural
by-products alone reach about 150 million tones—six times the volume of solid
waste. If left unrecycled, these by-products represent a major economic loss. A
similar problem could be seen in construction materials or industrial
wastewater, according to the UNDP representative.

A
representative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization
(UNIDO) said the organization has supported the transformation of six
eco-industrial parks in Hai Phong, Dong Nai, Da Nang, Tay Ninh, and Bac Ninh,
with both State-owned and foreign-invested enterprises participating in. The
industrial symbiosis model offers strong potential as companies within the same
zones can use each other’s waste as production inputs.

Early
implementation faced challenges in terms of persuading businesses to engage in,
reviewing legal frameworks, and assessing economic efficiency. Over time,
however, understanding improved and tangible results emerged, the  UNIDO representative stated.

Representing
the domestic business sector, Mr. Ngo Minh Hai of TH Group said the company has
pursued sustainable development from the outset as a core value aligned with
public health and environmental protection. TH’s investments focus on high and
green technologies, with closed-loop chains in dairy processing. The group has
replaced fossil fuels with biomass boilers and expanded the use of solar power
to support clean energy.

Investment
in the circular economy, Mr. Hai noted, helps lower costs by optimizing
material inputs.

Mr. Hoang Manh Cam, head of strategy at the Vietnam National
Textile and Garment Group, said weaker consumer demand has reduced per-capita
consumption, pushing the industry to shift towards higher-value niches and
extend product life cycles, including in the second-hand market. The firm is
also upgrading older machinery to extend equipment life and achieve cost
savings.

Mr. Le Thanh Tung of the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank
for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) said the bank has expanded green financial
products by simplifying lending procedures, digitalizing access to credit, and
integrating green criteria into credit decisions. Businesses meeting
sustainability standards are prioritized, particularly in green agriculture.

VietinBank has also launched a green deposit program worth
around VND10 trillion  ($379.6 million)  and pledged long-term support for enterprises
undergoing a green transition, according to him.

-Khanh Chi