On January 27, 2026, the Prime Minister of Vietnam signed Decision No. 173, approving the “Strategy for Promoting Vietnam's Image to the World from 2026 to 2030, with a Vision to 2045.” The strategy positions national image promotion as a soft tool directly serving national development and integrates it with long-term development goals.
Nguyen Van Thuat, Deputy Director of the Department of Grassroots Information and External Information under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, pointed out that future communication work will move towards specialization, modernization, and alignment with international standards, with communication effectiveness and awareness as evaluation criteria.
He said that content production must ensure both accuracy and creativity, integrate traditional media with digital media, and fully utilize new technologies such as technology, big data, and artificial intelligence.
The strategy emphasizes leveraging the combined strength of the entire political system, strengthening coordination among ministries, local governments, enterprises, and the people, and taking people as the core, with culture, knowledge, innovation, and international responsibility as the foundation for shaping the national image.
Nguyen Van Thuat stated that one of the key innovations of this strategy is the first establishment of a unified national image information and identification system, which will help position the national image as a whole, avoid fragmented communication, and allow for flexible adjustments to different markets.
This system aims to shape the image of Vietnam as politically stable, economically dynamic, culturally distinctive, innovatively developing, offering an excellent investment environment, being safe and friendly, and becoming a reliable and responsible partner in the international community.
The strategy also puts forward six major tasks, including transitioning from traditional publicity to national brand building, developing the information communication system, uncovering and sharing the “Vietnam Story,” and establishing a unified identification system.
At the same time, a digital communication ecosystem will be built to strengthen influence on international platforms, promote cooperation with foreign partners, overseas Vietnamese, and experts, and establish data analysis and communication evaluation mechanisms.
Additionally, cross-departmental coordination will be strengthened, resource integration efficiency improved, international communication talents cultivated, and mechanisms for communication monitoring and crisis response established.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam will be responsible for overall coordination and implementation, with various departments and local governments promoting the initiative collaboratively to enhance the effectiveness of national image communication and international influence.