Rio de Janeiro (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the expanded BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on July 6 (local time), during which they agreed to foster bilateral cooperation in several specific areas.
The Vietnamese Government leader affirmed that Vietnam considers South Africa one of the most important partners in Africa, and highlighted the African country’s position and prestige in the regional and international arena, especially as it prepares to assume the Presidency of the G20 in 2025. He expressed his wish to further strengthen the partnership for cooperation and development between the two countries.
He stated that there remains huge room for the Vietnam and South Africa to complement each other and deepen their comprehensive cooperation, especially in the areas of economy, trade, investment, education - training, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges, thus paving the way for elevating bilateral relations to a new level.
He thanked South Africa for inviting Vietnam’s hihg-ranking leaders to attend the G20 Summit and extended an invitation to Ramaphosa to visit Vietnam at an early date.
For his part, Ramaphosa highlighted the great importance of his phone talks with Party General Secretary To Lam in April, saying that it contributed to further deepening the relations between the two Parties and two countries.
He spoke highly of Vietnam’s socio-economic development achievements, affirming that South Africa attaches great importance to the traditional friendship nurtured by generations of leaders and people of both countries since the struggles against colonialism and apartheid. He noted that this relationship has continued to grow stronger in the present national development. The Southern African President showed his desire to pay a visit to Vietnam in 2025.
The two sides discussed major directions for advancing bilateral relations and agreed to consider signing agreements and legal frameworks to boost economic, education, and defence - security cooperation; and expand collaboration into other potential areas such as energy, mining, sustainable use of natural resources, infrastructure development, and climate change response.
The leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues of shared concern, reaffirming their commitment to promoting multilateralism, respecting international law, and stepping up South-South cooperation./.
