Buenos Aires (VNA) – A delegation of Hanoi led by Deputy Secretary of the municipal Party Committee and Chairman of the municipal People's Council Nguyen Ngoc Tuan paid a working trip to Chile from August 16-18 to beef up the cooperation between Hanoi and Chile’s localities as well as between Vietnam and Chile.
At a meeting with President of the Communist Party of Chile Lautaro Carmona in Santiago, Tuan expressed his gratitude for the international solidarity that the Chilean party and people gave to Vietnam during its national defence and construction.
He hoped that the two sides will strengthen experience sharing in Party building, and help to boost investment, trade, tourism and cultural exchange cooperation activities between Hanoi and Chilean localities.
Carmona, who actively participated in protests against the war in Vietnam, expressed his respect for President Ho Chi Minh, the great leader of the Vietnamese people, and emphasised that the Communist Party of Chile always supports and follows the development process of Vietnam under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
He also informed the guests about preparations for the 27th national congress of the Chilean Communist Party, scheduled to be held in December this year.
Within the framework of the Hanoi delegation’s visit to Chile, an event was held to promote trade, investment and business connections between Hanoi and South American country.
Speaking at the event, the Hanoi official emphasised the significance of the signing of the Vietnam - Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on November 11, 2011 which opened up great opportunities for businesses of the two countries.
He introduced the favourable investment environment of Vietnam, as well as of Hanoi, to foreign businesses and investors.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Chile Pham Truong Giang said that Vietnam is currently Chile's fifth largest trading partner in Asia, and the largest trading partner in ASEAN. Meanwhile, in Latin America, Chile is Vietnam's fourth largest trading partner, after Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.
Since the Vietnam-Chile FTA was ratified and officially took effect in 2014, import-export turnover between the two countries has grown significantly, reaching a record of 2.2 billion USD in 2022, double that of 2018. Bilateral trade stood at 1.57 billion USD in 2023, of which Vietnam's exports were valued at nearly 1.2 billion USD.
In 2024, their trade exchanges showed signs of recovery with trade turnover reaching 756.1 million USD in the first five months of the year, up 8.5% year on year. During the period, Vietnam's exports to Chile increased by 23%, reaching 615.27 million USD./.
