The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee organized the scientific conference titled “50 Years of Ho Chi Minh City Bearing the Name of President Ho Chi Minh: Looking Back at History, Moving Toward a New Development Journey”, bringing together former city leaders, experts and scholars to reflect on the city's achievements and discuss strategies for its next phase of development.
The event was chaired by Dr. Truong Minh Huy Vu, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies, and Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Tan Vinh, Director of the Regional Academy of Politics II.
Attendees included Vo Hoang Ngan, Deputy Head of the Ho Chi Minh City National Assembly Delegation; Le Van Minh, Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee’s Commission for Propaganda and Mass Mobilization; former city leaders, experts and researchers.
Delivering his speech, Dr. Truong Minh Huy Vu said that the conference is part of a series of activities celebrating the 50th anniversary of Saigon–Gia Dinh officially being renamed Ho Chi Minh City. He noted that following the recent administrative reorganization and the issuance of Politburo Resolution No. 09, the city is entering a new phase of development with renewed status, vision and momentum.
The conference focuses on four key themes. The first examined Ho Chi Minh City's historical journey over the past five decades, highlighting major achievements, strengths and lessons learned.
The second explored the city's distinctive “DNA,” including its culture, people, openness and entrepreneurial spirit, while analyzing why the city has long been a cradle of innovation and a pioneer in many fields.
The third centered on residents’ quality of life. Discussions emphasized that urban renewal projects and infrastructure investments must ultimately serve the people, while also addressing challenges such as urbanization, population aging, environmental protection and water resource management.
The fourth theme focused on breakthrough institutional and policy proposals, as well as initiatives to help Ho Chi Minh City maintain its role as the country's leading center for economic, cultural, social and human development in a rapidly changing environment.
Presenting the conference’s keynote report, Pham Binh An, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies, said that the city is entering a new development stage marked by significant opportunities, rising expectations and major challenges.
Among the key challenges ahead, he said, is the creation of an effective governance framework for a mega-city characterized by rapid growth, a vast population and increasingly strong regional linkages.
The city must also transform its strengths in culture, human resources, science and technology, and innovation into tangible drivers of growth. At the same time, it needs to develop a modern and inclusive social welfare system capable of adapting to emerging trends such as population aging, digital transformation and climate change, while ensuring people remain at the center of development.
Despite its achievements, Ho Chi Minh City continues to face challenges, including pressure on urban infrastructure, climate change impacts, governance efficiency, human resource quality and institutional reform.
Mr. Pham Binh An stressed that the conference was not only an opportunity to review the city's 50-year development journey, but also a forum to establish scientific and practical foundations for its next chapter of growth.
He called on participants to focus discussions on maximizing the effectiveness of the city's internal resources, transforming the growth model through science, technology, innovation and digital transformation, and building an efficient urban governance framework suited to a modern mega-city.
Participants stressed the importance of quickly turning the enhanced authorities envisioned under the proposed Special Urban Law into tangible governance capacity and real development results.
