Vietnam Seaports Association
Quy Nhon, Gia Lai, September 18, 2026
As part of the program from September 17 – 19, 2026 in Quy Nhon, Gia Lai Province, on September 18, Vietnam Seaports Association (VPA) held the main session of VPA Annual General Meeting 2026 under the theme “Vietnam Seaports: Green Transition – To a Thriving Era”. The Meeting gathered more than 600 delegates, including leaders of state management agencies, local authorities, member ports, logistics and maritime enterprises, associations, organizations, and domestic and international partners. The host of the 2026 Meeting is Quy Nhon Port Joint Stock Company.
Attending and speaking at the Meeting were Mr. Nguyen Dinh Viet – Deputy Director General of Vietnam Maritime and Inland Waterway Administration; Mr. Nguyen Huu Que – Member of Gia Lai Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People’s Committee; together with Mr. Huynh Van Cuong – Chairman of VPA, Vice Chairmen, Secretary General, Executive Committee members, representatives of member ports, and many enterprises and experts in the industry.
The Meeting is an important forum to review the first year of the 10th VPA term, discuss strategic issues of the seaport industry, and reach agreement on orientations and action programs for 2026–2027.
From “Representation – Connection – Creation” to Six Strategic Priorities
Speaking at the Meeting, Mr. Huynh Van Cuong, Chairman of VPA, emphasized that Vietnam’s seaport industry is entering a new development period, in which competitiveness is measured not only by scale or output but increasingly by operational productivity, reliability, service quality, hinterland connectivity, costs, data, green capacity, and digitalization.
Based on this, the Meeting agreed to continue promoting VPA’s three core roles: Representation – Connection – Creation. The Association aims to improve its representation capacity for the seaport community based on data and expertise; expand linkages across the entire seaport – maritime – logistics ecosystem; and shift from reporting individual issues to proposing solutions, standards, data, and tools applicable in practice.
Six priority action groups to 2030 were identified: Policy; Connectivity; Green Ports; Smart Ports; Human Resources; and International Integration. VPA will focus on participating in policy development and review based on data; promoting port connections with economic corridors, railways, inland waterways, ICDs, and logistics centers; supporting members in energy management, emission reduction, equipment electrification, shore power, renewable energy, and MRV; while promoting digitalization, automation, AI, IoT, PCS, and industry data sharing.
Green Transition and Digitalization Must Create Measurable Efficiency
Green transition is a key topic throughout the Meeting. The emphasized view is that greening seaports should not stop at investment in equipment, technology, or clean energy, but must be linked to management innovation, operational organization, efficient use of resources, and improved service quality. This process needs a roadmap suitable for each port, with clear baselines, targets, criteria, and investment priorities.
In 2026, VPA organized two Vietnam Green Ports Workshops, established cooperation with the Vietnam Green Transition Association, and surveyed members’ needs regarding emission inventories, MRV, shore power, equipment electrification, clean energy, green finance, and technology. The focus in the next period is to move from workshops and awareness exchange to practical tools such as criteria, guidelines, inventory templates, and data-sharing mechanisms, thereby supporting enterprises in implementing substantive green transition.
Recommendations to Remove Bottlenecks in the Seaport System
Based on the practical operations of the seaport community, the Meeting agreed to continue recommending that state management agencies prioritize five groups of issues: development of inter-regional connectivity infrastructure and direct connections to gateway ports, especially railways and inland waterways; improvement of the seaport service pricing mechanism in line with investment scale, service quality, and fair competition; removal of difficulties in dredging and maintenance of navigation channels and waters in front of berths to ensure reception of large vessels; support for standardizing data, PCS, shore power, emission monitoring, and interoperable green and digital platforms; and strengthening inter-sectoral and inter – regional coordination in the management and development of the seaport system.
First Year of the 10th Term: From Receiving Information to Proactively Creating Value
According to the report by Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ky – Secretary General of the Association, from October 2025 to August 2026, the VPA Office and Secretariat implemented 62 major activities and 15 surveys, consultations, and voting rounds. Activities focused on policies and laws, resolving members’ difficulties, planning and infrastructure, coordination with state agencies, member development, external relations, and programs directly for members. A new working process is gradually being formed in the direction of: identifying issues – consulting members – consolidating and analyzing – making recommendations – monitoring results.
VPA also maintained relations with the ASEAN Ports Association (APA), participated in preparing APSN 2026 activities, and expanded cooperation with international partners. The goal is to link each external relations program with specific outputs for members such as benchmarks, training, technology, investment, business connections, and sharing of international experience.
Expanding the Member Ecosystem and Strengthening Regional Connectivity
At the Meeting, VPA presented membership certificates to new members including Cai Lan International Container Port (CICT), Thanh Binh Phu My Joint Stock Company (Phu My Inland Port), and five affiliate members: RMIT, MGS Auto, Vina Logistics, VTEDCO, and JMR – LETC. The expansion of members toward an ecosystem aims to increase connections between seaports and logistics, transport, technology, energy, training, and research, thereby increasing practical value for the member community.
The selection of Quy Nhon as the venue for the 2026 Meeting also highlighted the connecting role of seaports with the new development space of Gia Lai Province. Quy Nhon Port is an important gateway bringing goods from the Central Highlands to the East Sea and connecting with Southern Laos and Northeastern Cambodia. Presentations at the Meeting focused on the development of Quy Nhon Port and logistics in the South Central Coast – Central Highlands; improving the competitiveness of the Ho Chi Minh City port system; standardizing planning and improving productivity at Lach Huyen; and orientations for sustainable development of the Cai Mep – Thi Vai area.
Towards VPA 2027 and a Green, Smart, Sustainable Seaport System
The Meeting expressed appreciation to Quy Nhon Port Joint Stock Company – the 2026 host, sponsors, and partners; and announced Saigon Port as the host of VPA Annual General Meeting 2027 and conducted the handover ceremony of the rotating flag. On September 19, the program will continue with a visit to Quy Nhon Port and Quang Trung Museum.
Closing the Meeting, VPA affirmed the consistent direction of the 10th term: putting members at the center, taking data and knowledge as the foundation, taking connection as the method, and taking results as the measure. With this approach, the Association aims to increase the value delivered to members, improve the competitiveness of the seaport system, and make practical contributions to the green transition, digital transformation, and sustainable development of Vietnam’s maritime – logistics industry.
Contact Information:
Vietnam Seaports Association (VPA)
Email: vpa.info.vn@gmail.com
