Johannesburg (VNA) – Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held working sessions with South African organisations and enterprises in Johannesburg on November 21 to promote bilateral economic cooperation, as part of his trip to South Africa to attend the 20th G20 Summit and engage in bilateral activities.
Receiving Neil Pollock, Vice President of the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI), PM Chinh called on the business community to contribute to strengthening the Vietnam-South Africa relations.
Building on the two sides’ sound political ties and the vast untapped potential for economic cooperation, the PM invited the SACCI leaders and member enterprises to visit Vietnam soon, and encouraged them to explore investment opportunities in the Vietnamese market.
He said Vietnam stands ready to welcome South African investors for experience exchange and to deepen, diversify and enhance the effectiveness of economic, trade and investment ties for mutual benefits, especially in sectors where both sides possess significant potential and strengths, such as agricultural production, mining, oil and gas, and in trading Vietnam’s key export items, including electronics, textiles, footwear and fruits.
With 17 free trade agreements (FTAs) covering more than 60 major economies and strong advantages in farming, Vietnamese enterprises could invest in South Africa and export locally, thereby contributing to food security in the country while tapping into the African market of more than one billion people, the Vietnamese leader noted.
Pollock praised Vietnam’s rapid growth and strong development amid global and regional uncertainties, and lauded the leaders of both countries in turning commitments into concrete actions. He also highlighted the two sides’ shared cultural and historical values as well as their strong potential for tourism cooperation.
He stressed that South Africa could learn much from Vietnam’s experience, and that South African businesses could also learn from their Vietnamese peers. Pollock proposed stronger governmental connectivity, saying South African enterprises are ready to work with Vietnamese partners to seize major opportunities, and expressed confidence that progress would unfold swiftly.
Working with Brenda Moagi, Board Member, and Sesakho Magadla, CEO of the Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa Limited (PetroSA), PM Chinh underlined that cooperation in oil, gas and energy is vital to ensuring fast and sustainable development for each nation.
He proposed PetroSA cooperate with the Vietnam National Industry - Energy Group (Petrovietnam) in promising areas such as offshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation, petrochemical refining, oil and gas services, energy industry development, offshore wind and solar energy, joint investment in potential regions, and human resources training. The PM also invited PetroSA leaders to visit Vietnam for discussions with relevant partners and practical cooperation deals.
For their part, the PetroSA leaders expressed strong interest and willingness to cooperate with Vietnam, saying they would hold detailed discussions with Petrovietnam with a view to signing a memorandum of understanding for rapid, sustainable and mutually beneficial cooperation.
Moagi added that with South Africa’s electricity grid connected regionally, the two sides have great potential for cooperation, particularly in offshore wind power and oil and gas exploration, which are sectors that could begin collaboration immediately. Petrovietnam’s support is highly necessary for PetroSA, she said.
Working with De Villiers Engelbrecht, CEO of Airlink, PM Chinh noted that although cooperation between Vietnam and South Africa is developing strongly in the fields of politics, economy, trade, and tourism, they still lack direct flights. He emphasised that collaboration in expanding air routes and the aviation market will significantly contribute to promoting trade, investment, people-to-people exchanges, tourism, cargo transport, and e-commerce between the two countries.
He stated that Vietnam’s aviation market is growing rapidly, with the total air transport market expected to reach about 85 million passengers in 2025, an increase of around 11% compared to 2024. The market currently includes six Vietnamese airlines, namely Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines, Vietjet Air, Bamboo Airways, Vietravel Airlines, and Sun PhuQuoc Airways.
Vietnam is also focusing on developing its airport infrastructure to meet the market's growth, especially Long Thanh airport, which is expected to complete Phase 1 by the end of this year, and Gia Binh airport, which will be completed in the coming years - both designed on a large scale to help Vietnam become a regional aviation gateway capable of handling up to 100 million passengers and millions of tonnes of cargo annually.
PM Chinh also noted that South Africa is a gateway to Africa, while Vietnam is a gateway to Asia and Southeast Asia, with a radius of about 5–6 hours’ flight covering a region that accounts for roughly 50% of the world’s population and 60% of global GDP.
He proposed that, based on its experience in operating air route networks, Airlink enhance cooperation with Vietnamese airlines to further strengthen aviation connectivity between the two countries. The goal is for Airlink to serve as the gateway to Africa for Vietnamese airlines, and for Vietnamese airlines to serve as the gateway to Asia of Airlink in particular, and other South African airlines in general.
Engelbrecht fully agreed with the Vietnamese PM on the importance of strengthening aviation cooperation for the bilateral relations. He said that discussions are already underway with Vietnamese airlines to implement collaboration activities in line with the PM’s proposals, thereby contributing to the establishment of a tourism and people-to-people exchange corridor between the two countries./.
