The FIATA World Congress 2025: Golden opportunity for Vietnam’s logistics sector
The 2025 FIATA World Congress in Hanoi spotlighted Vietnam’s growing role as a gateway for green logistics and regional connectivity.
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Amid mounting geopolitical, environmental, and structural challenges in global trade, logistics has become central to driving resilience and sustainability. Hosted by the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) and the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA) on October 6, the congress highlighted ASEAN’s strategic importance and Vietnam’s position at the forefront of the region’s green logistics transformation.
The FIATA World Congress 2025 is not only a platform for knowledge exchange and trend-sharing, but also a practical opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises to connect with a global network of partners, expand investment linkages, and showcase the capabilities and strategic vision of Vietnam’s logistics industry to the world. The event is also expected to create strong momentum for attracting international capital into domestic logistics infrastructure, further positioning Vietnam as a dynamic new logistics hub in the Asia–Pacific region.
Amid profound restructuring of global trade, hosting the 2025 FIATA World Congress represents a golden opportunity for Vietnam’s logistics sector to assert its role, strengthen competitiveness, and contribute actively to shaping a greener, more digital, and more sustainable global logistics ecosystem.
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| Mr Turgut Erkeskin, President of FIATA. (Photo: FIATA) |
Sharing his perspective on the pressures facing the logistics industry, Mr Turgut Erkeskin, President of FIATA, emphasised that this year’s Congress theme – “Green and Resilient Logistics” – is both urgent and timely. According to him, the global logistics sector is undergoing profound transformations driven by shifting trade flows, geopolitical volatility, the rise of e-commerce, technological breakthroughs, and mounting sustainability pressures.
“Freight forwarders are at the centre of these developments, ensuring goods move reliably, efficiently, and responsibly toward people and the planet, even as protectionist trends rise. The sessions this week reflect these realities: we are focused on resilience, sustainability, skills development, and stronger cooperation across borders and modes of transport.” the FIATA President affirmed.
He also stressed that the greatest strength of the FIATA Congress lies not only in its discussions, but in the connections it creates. It is a forum for exchanging knowledge, building trust, and shaping the future of logistics together.
The FIATA Director General, Dr Stéphane Graber, highlighted the role of FIATA in navigating the green transition though capacity building, partnerships and policy engagement at global level and multimodality. “FIATA ensures the voice of freight forwarders are heard at the policy building level, with the aim of ensuring transparency, practicality and feasibility for industry implementation”, he emphasised.
He highlighted two key initiatives that are supporting this transition: FIATA’s recent confirmation as a permanent observer at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) where, as the only freight forwarding and logistics representation, it plays a critical role in ensuring freight forwarders are part of the maritime sustainability discussion, with a decision expected at the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting to be held in October on the decarbonisation plan proposed by the IMO; and the partnership with the Smart Freight Centre (SFC), which has led to a co-branded training programme on emissions accounting, helping companies measure and reduce their carbon footprint.
As he explained,“This initiative will contribute to building common understanding and transparency in emissions reporting, preparing the industry for upcoming regulatory and customer-driven standards.”
Representing the host country, Mr. Dao Trong Khoa, President of the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA), expressed pride that Vietnam – an emerging logistics hub in the Asia-Pacific region has the honour of welcoming the global logistics community.
“This event not only reaffirms Vietnam’s rising position on the world logistics map, but also reflects the trust and partnership of the international community with us. Notably, the Congress has received strong support from the Government, particularly from Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, as well as the close cooperation of ministries, agencies, and the business community”, Mr. Dao Trong Khoa emphasised.
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| Dao Trong Khoa, President of the VLA. (Photo: VLA) |
“The 2025 FIATA World Congress is not just an annual gathering, but a pivotal milestone where the global logistics community comes together to shape a new development model – greener, more digital, and more sustainable”.
In particular, the VLA President emphasised that Vietnam is a dynamic and deeply integrated economy with impressive import–export growth, with total trade turnover expected to surpass USD 800 billion in 2025. The country is home to more than 45,000 logistics enterprises, including over 5,000 international freight forwarding companies, making a significant contribution to the national economy.
Over the course of five days, the 2025 FIATA World Congress hosted a series of in-depth discussions on critical industry themes. These included: the rapid rise of cross-border e-commerce and the optimisation of logistics solutions; digital transformation and innovation as key catalysts for green and sustainable logistics; building agile and resilient supply chains and modernising the cold chain; navigating the new trade landscape amid geopolitical realignment; advancing next-generation economic and transport corridors to strengthen regional connectivity and global integration; and enhancing inland waterway and rail transport as essential drivers of sustainable supply chains.
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| The event is expected to create strong momentum for attracting international capital into domestic logistics infrastructure, further positioning Vietnam as a dynamic new logistics hub in the Asia–Pacific region. (Photo: FIATA) |
A highlight of the programme was the Young Logistics Professionals (YLP) Award, celebrating the creativity and pioneering spirit of the next generation shaping the future of global logistics.
Vietnam’s logistics industry is currently valued at around USD 70–80 billion, with strong potential to become a new logistics hub in the ASEAN region. The Vietnamese government has issued a number of strategic resolutions to promote green logistics, modern infrastructure, and international integration. These provide a solid foundation for advancing cooperation, technology transfer, and innovation.
Notably, the National green growth strategy for 2021–2030, with a vision to 2050, together with the National green growth action plan, identifies logistics as one of 18 priority sectors for implementation. This serves as a key pillar in realising Vietnam’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050, while enhancing the competitiveness of the economy.
In reality, logistics costs in Vietnam account for 16–18% of GDP, significantly higher than the global average of 10–12%, while the sector is also responsible for 8–10% of CO₂ emissions. This highlights the urgent need to both reduce costs and “green” operations, thereby creating a foundation for sustainable competitive advantage.
| FIATA International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations is a non-governmental, membership-based organisation representing freight forwarders in some 150 territories. FIATA’s membership is composed of 111 Associations Members and more than 6,000 Individual Members, overall representing an industry of over 40,000 freight forwarding and logistics firms worldwide. Based in Geneva, FIATA is ‘the global voice of freight logistics'. |
