Hanoi (VNA) – “It is necessaryto make more effort and measures to improve competitiveness of Vietnameselogistics firms.”, said Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh at theVietnam 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 facingheaps of difficulties, such as the loose coordination among relevant sectors, weaktransport and IT infrastructure, and a shortage of qualified human resources.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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