As the respective largest economic and commercial centers of the two nations, the linkage between Ho Chi Minh City and Yangon carries profound strategic significance, opening a favorable legal corridor to promote trade connectivity, tourism promotion, and subregional cultural exchanges. The government of Ho Chi Minh City consistently coordinates closely with Myanmar partners to organize annual business forums, creating a solid lever to support city investors in penetrating the market, bringing resources and commercial solutions for long-term cooperation with the former capital of Yangon.
Yangon City is the former capital and currently the largest economic, commercial, and financial center of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Possessing a strategic geographical location along the banks of the Yangon River leading out to the sea, this metropolis plays the role of the nation's most critical international commercial gateway. According to local data from the Myanmar National Web Portal (myanmar.gov.mm), Yangon is home to magnificent and globally iconic spiritual cultural heritages, exemplified by the splendid mega-architecture of the Shwedagon Pagoda. According to urban overview data from VnExpress, despite no longer serving as the administrative capital, Yangon still maintains its irreplaceable position as the economic "locomotive," with a population of over 7.3 million people spanning an area of 10,170 square kilometers, forming one of the most bustling and dynamic metropolitan areas in the lower reaches of the Irrawaddy River.
With regard to its economy, Yangon serves as the nation's core service, logistics, and import-export hub by hosting the Yangon International Seaport under the management of the Myanma Port Authority (MPA)—the primary node handling over 90% of the country's total maritime trade throughput. The economic appeal of this metropolis is further enhanced by modernized infrastructure mega-projects such as the "Yangon New City" urban development, which is oriented to become a new model high-tech industrial and logistics nucleus within the ASEAN region.
Over the years, the outstanding friendly cooperative achievements between the two localities have been deeply and comprehensively recognized, serving as an important driving force for the Vietnam-Myanmar Comprehensive Cooperative Partnership. Since the two cities established their official friendly and cooperative relations in 2012, the bilateral corridor has been continuously maintained in a substantive manner through high-level delegation exchanges, Buddhist cultural interactions, and sister-city connectivity. The brightest highlight is the economic bridging role of the Ho Chi Minh City government and its business community in Yangon through annual international trade fairs and major investment promotion conferences. These efforts have paved the way for Vietnamese service, banking, telecommunications, and real estate capital flows to robustly penetrate Myanmar's domestic market via the Yangon gateway. These enduring trade milestones, combined with medical technical assistance programs, human resource training, and the promotion of direct flight network expansions, have established a solid legal framework for multi-modal economic development plans in the new era.
Looking toward the future, on the foundation of the established friendship agreement, Ho Chi Minh City is expanding its strategic partnership networks with partners from Yangon City across five key areas:
Maritime Affairs and Seaport Logistics: Exchanging expertise and cooperating on developing logistics warehousing systems and maritime transport lines directly connecting Ho Chi Minh City's port cluster with the Port of Yangon.
Retail Trade and Consumer Goods Distribution: Organizing trade promotion fairs and connecting to introduce competitive products of Ho Chi Minh City enterprises (such as textiles and garments, processed foods, and building materials) into Myanmar's domestic market.
Manufacturing Industry Investment and Development: Encouraging manufacturing joint ventures and investments in supporting industrial zones, agricultural processing, and household goods production located within Yangon's economic sub-zones.
Travel Tourism and Heritage Connectivity: Designing tourism product packages integrated with the direct Ho Chi Minh City-Yangon flight route, promoting the exchange of international visitor sources to experience cultural heritage.
Financial Services, Banking, and Real Estate: Capitalizing on private investment flows and supporting the legal corridor for financial institutions, bank representative offices, and Ho Chi Minh City real estate enterprises to participate in urban refurbishment and commercial housing projects in Yangon.