Le made the call while receiving WEF Managing Director Stephan Mergenthaler on the sidelines of the Autumn Economic Forum 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City on October 28.
The Prime Minister expressed his appreciation for WEF's longstanding cooperation with Viet Nam and its contributions to making the Autumn Economic Forum an open and substantive platform for dialogue among the Government, businesses and the scientific community.
He noted that policy discussions, experience sharing and technology showcases over the past two days have demonstrated the international community's interest and confidence in Viet Nam, particularly its innovation agenda and Ho Chi Minh City's role as a key growth hub.
Le thanked WEF for its effective support, particularly its cooperation with Ho Chi Minh City in establishing the Viet Nam Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), describing the initiative as timely and well aligned with digital transformation and technological trends.
He stressed that Viet Nam is pursuing strategic breakthroughs to achieve rapid and sustainable economic growth, with the private sector playing a particularly important role. Key priorities include institutional reform, adoption of international standards, protection of investors' legitimate rights and interests, infrastructure development, and high-quality human resources training.
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The Prime Minister called on WEF to continue facilitating knowledge sharing, technology transfer, capital mobilization and connections between international corporations and Vietnamese enterprises, particularly private businesses.
He also welcomed the results of the 2023–2026 cooperation framework between Viet Nam and WEF and urged both sides to work closely together to develop and sign a strategic cooperation framework for the next period, with a view to advancing effective public-private partnerships and contributing to regional and global development.
In reply, Mergenthaler congratulated Viet Nam and Ho Chi Minh City on the successful organization of the Autumn Economic Forum, expressing his impression of the country's long-term vision and efforts to promote growth through science, technology, innovation and a dynamic private sector.
He affirmed WEF's readiness to deepen cooperation with Viet Nam, including by establishing a high-level cooperation mechanism to mobilize support from the private sector and international partners for the country's priorities as it prepares to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in 2027.
The WEF executive also welcomed cooperation with Ho Chi Minh City in establishing the Viet Nam Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR)./.