Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, serves as the country's political, administrative, economic, financial, tourism, and logistics hub. With a registered population of more than five million and as the core city of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, Bangkok is one of Southeast Asia's largest metropolitan economies and a leading regional centre with strong global competitiveness. The city's economy is underpinned by a robust services, commerce, and tourism sector, complemented by advanced capabilities in public service delivery, multimodal transport infrastructure, the night-time economy, and modern retail development. Under the leadership of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), Bangkok is also advancing its transformation into a knowledge-based and innovation-driven metropolis through the adoption of circular waste management technologies, the optimization of green urban planning, and the development of high-value urban tourism models that support sustainable and inclusive growth.
Photo: A delegation of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee visits the Embassy of Viet Nam in Thailand and holds working sessions with leading Thai business groups.
Photo: Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs.
Over the years, cooperation between Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok has continued to deliver tangible and mutually beneficial outcomes, supported by the many similarities shared by the two metropolitan areas in terms of urban scale, tourism, trade, and the challenges of rapid urbanization. Since the establishment of the Friendship Agreement, the bilateral partnership has been further strengthened through high-level exchanges, official delegation visits, and close cooperation in trade and investment promotion, as well as cultural and artistic exchanges. More recently, the partnership has achieved several significant milestones through practical cooperation initiatives. Notably, the Governor of Bangkok has demonstrated a strong commitment to enhancing city-to-city cooperation by actively participating in multilateral diplomatic events hosted by Ho Chi Minh City. These engagements have further reinforced the friendship between the two cities, while promoting people-to-people exchanges and contributing to the broader strategic partnership between Viet Nam and Thailand.
Looking ahead, particularly within the framework of the 3rd Ho Chi Minh City Friendship Dialogue (FD 2026), Ho Chi Minh City seeks to further expand cooperation with Bangkok and encourage investment, technology transfer, and the sharing of urban governance expertise in the following five priority areas:
1. Urban Governance and Public Transport: Exchange best practices in multimodal transport planning, traffic management and congestion mitigation, smart urban planning, and improving the quality and efficiency of public services.
2. Night-time Economy and Sustainable Tourism: Promote cooperation in developing urban tourism products, organizing large-scale cultural and culinary events, and strengthening destination promotion across the ASEAN region.
3. Environment and Circular Waste Management: Cooperate on advanced solutions for reducing urban carbon emissions, managing municipal solid waste and wastewater, and promoting circular economy models and sustainable urban ecosystems.
4. Trade, Retail and Business Connectivity: Strengthen investment promotion, expand distribution networks, facilitate business-to-business partnerships, organize cross-border trade fairs and exhibitions, and promote bilateral trade.
5. ASEAN Cultural Exchange and Youth Development: Enhance people-to-people exchanges, educational cooperation, artistic and cultural programmes, youth networking initiatives, and the development of high-quality human resources across ASEAN.