On the afternoon of September 8, Hai Phong Department of Industry and Trade, in coordination with the Viet Nam Trade Office in Sweden, organized a trade connection program with a delegation of Swedish enterprises visiting and working in the city.
Attending the program were representatives of the Port of Gothenburg and the Vietnamese Business Association in Sweden. This was an important occasion for the Hai Phong Department of Industry and Trade and the Port of Gothenburg to implement the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on export-import and logistics development signed on September 6, 2024.
This activity has opened up many opportunities to promote trade and logistics cooperation between Hai Phong and Sweden, while also contributing to enhance export capacity and affirming the position of the Port City in the international arena.
At the working session, Mr. Nguyen Cong Han, Deputy Director of the Hai Phong Department of Industry and Trade, stated that Hai Phong is currently the largest seaport city in the North with a system of 52 international and domestic wharves (accounting for 17.5% of the total number of wharves nationwide), a 125-km-long coastline, over 400 km of inland waterways, and serves as the economic, cultural, scientific, commercial, and logistics center of the northern coastal region. The city accommodates all 5 traditional modes of transportation and 1 specialized mode, creating favorable conditions for developing seaport and logistics services.
Following its merger with Hai Duong Province under Resolution 202/2025/QH15, Hai Phong has become the city with the 3rd largest economic scale in the country.
In the first 8 months of 2025, the city achieved outstanding economic results: GRDP increased by 14.51%, total retail sales reached USD 9.3 billion (up 14.8%), import-export turnover reached USD 60.15 billion (exports USD 31.8 billion, with trade surplus maintained for the 8th consecutive year). With great potential from the European, particularly Northern European market, Hai Phong is actively promoting trade, taking advantage of EVFTA incentives, and affirming its position as a modern, internationally integrated port city.
Mr. Han emphasized that Hai Phong always valued and supported international partnerships and is committed to creating a favorable, transparent, and equitable investment and business environment for foreign investors. Through this chain of cooperative and connection events, the Department of Industry and Trade hoped to achieve practical results and opened up many new prospects for cooperation between the two business communities.
At the session, representatives of the Port of Gothenburg (Sweden) the largest seaport in Northern Europe discussed the implementation of the MOU signed between the Hai Phong Department of Industry and Trade and the Port of Gothenburg.
They spent time exchanging and connecting trade, with the Gothenburg Port side particularly sharing experiences in applying the digital port platform, AI, and IOT in supply chain management, as well as in developing green and smart ports—valuable practical knowledge for researching and training in the logistics field in Hai Phong.
On the morning of the same day, the delegation visited and worked at Hateco Hai Phong International Container Terminal JSC. At the site, both sides exchanged, discussed, and connected trade with the Port of Gothenburg and overseas Vietnamese enterprises in Sweden in the fields of investment, trade, and logistics services.
The delegation also conducted a field visit to Hateco Port, where they were introduced to trade promotion programs, logistics service development, and the company’s operations.
The Hateco Hai Phong International Container Terminal and the Port of Gothenburg (Sweden) agreed to sign an MOU, opening up opportunities for cooperation in port operation, logistics, and international trade.
The delegation’s working program in Hai Phong took place over two days (September 8–9, 2025) with a series of five cooperation and connection events. The focus was on sharing the experiences of the Port of Gothenburg with Hai Phong’s enterprises and Logistics Association, aiming to put into practice the cooperation agreements signed by the two sides.