On 27 November 2025, Mr. Nguyen Cong Vinh, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) People’s Committee met with Mr. Manuel Kilian, Executive Director of the Global Government Technology Center (GGTC), based in Berlin, Germany, to discuss cooperation on digital government development. Mr. Vinh proposed three priority areas of collaboration, include (1) developing a technology startup ecosystem, including training programs to strengthen enterprises’ capacity to apply technology in production and management; (2) applying IoT to urban management, particularly in traffic monitoring, data collection, and real-time supervision of business activities to support smart-city development; (3) civil-service training and enhanced research collaboration between GGTC and universities and research institutes in HCMC to pilot digital-government and AI-based governance models. GGTC is committed to connecting the city with international experts and Germany’s innovation ecosystem to support cooperation.
The Vice Chairman also met Mr. Daniel Theobald, Co-founder of MassRobotics and Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Vecna Robotics, to explore cooperation in robotics, automation, AI, and startup-ecosystem development. HCMC encouraged MassRobotics to consider early investment and to take advantage of the city’s preferential policies on innovation and high technology. Both sides discussed joint work with relevant departments to establish pilot high-tech training programs, support promising startups, and connect with about 15 local enterprises. MassRobotics indicated readiness to partner with the city through its newly established Silicon Valley organizations to accelerate digital-economic growth and support initiatives in smart agriculture, digital health, and green technologies.
Currently, HCMC accounts for roughly one-third of Viet Nam’s GDP and is prioritizing digital transformation, high-tech industries, the formation of an innovation-startup ecosystem, smart-city construction, and administrative reform, aiming to become a world-class “mega-city” in the digital era. Over 40% of enterprises operate in technology-related sectors, the Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) is implementing more than 200 projects and hosts a training and research ecosystem of over 2,000 students, creating favorable conditions for cooperation in AI, IoT, data, and digital public services. The HCMC Department of Science and Technology will serve as the focal coordinator for collaborations between the City, GGTC, and MassRobotics, and for further development of the startup ecosystem.
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References: Sai Gon Giai Phong, 27 November 2025
