Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on October 23 had a meeting with visiting South African President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, during which the two sides agreed to promote market access for each other’s goods and products in order to boost bilateral trade.
The Vietnamese Government leader congratulated South Africa on its remarkable national development achievements and recognised the country’s important role and contributions to regional and global affairs.
He highlighted the fruitful development of the bilateral relations, noting that South Africa has consistently been Vietnam’s largest trade partner in Africa.
The PM underlined the countries’ complementary strengths and vast potential for cooperation in green transition and digital transformation, renewable energy, creative economy, media, and climate action, suggesting South Africa support Vietnam to launch negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).
Thanking the South African leader for an invitation to the G20 Summit 2025, PM Chinh affirmed Vietnam’s readiness to join and contribute actively to the event, particularly in areas of mutual priority such as poverty and inequality reduction, food security, sustainable development, and advancing global governance reforms.
He showed his delight to witness Vietnam’s remarkable achievements over nearly 40 years of “Doi moi” (renewal), which inspire South Africa and other developing countries.
President Ramaphosa, who is on a two-day state visit to Vietnam, affirmed that Vietnam is a close friend and trusted partner of his country in Asia. He hailed Vietnam’s effective development model and its open foreign policy, noting that the two countries have complementary strengths that can foster mutual development and improve their position in the international arena.
The South African President expressed his desire to strengthen business connection in mining, manufacturing, agriculture, electric vehicles, high-quality workforce training, and maritime industry.
President Ramaphosa thanked PM Chinh for accepting the invitation to attend the G20 Summit, saying that this demonstrates Vietnam's responsible contribution to promoting sustainable development and reforming global governance mechanisms.
The guest said he believes that Vietnam will successfully organise the signing ceremony of the UN Convention against Cybercrime. He showed his support for Vietnam's leading role in digital transformation efforts and global technology governance.
The leaders agreed to actively negotiate and soon sign more important cooperation documents to facilitate stronger trade turnover and investment cooperation between the two countries. They pledged to promptly complete internal procedures to elevate the bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership in 2025, making the Vietnam-South Africa relationship a model of cooperation among Global South countries.
Regarding multilateral cooperation, the two sides agreed to strengthen coordination and support each other's stance on regional and international issues at international forums and organisations, together promote multilateralism and South-South cooperation, contributing to maintaining peace, stability and cooperation in each region and in the world.
During the visit, the two leaders will attend a business forum co-organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the South African Embassy in Vietnam./.
