Seminar talks promoting African Continental Free Trade Area
Hanoi (VNA) - The Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS)’ Institute
of African and Middle Eastern Studies and the group of African Ambassadors to
Vietnam held an international seminar on promoting African
Continental Free Trade Area: opportunities and challenges for Vietnam on May 24.
In his opening
speech, VASS President Dr. Phan Chi Hieu said Vietnam
and African countries have a long-standing relationship and always support each
other, from the struggle for national liberation to national development process.
Despite COVID-19 pandemic, trade volume between Vietnam and African nations still
recorded positive growth.
Vietnam's
main exports to Africa include industrial goods (agricultural processing
machinery, phones, phone components), agricultural products (food, coffee, tea,
pepper, seafood), and processed goods. Conversely, Vietnam mostly imports raw
materials like cotton, cashew nuts and timber from Africa. The goods of both
sides complement each other. Therefore, the African Continental Free Trade
Agreement (AfCFTA), once effective, will provide an
opportunity for Vietnam's goods of competitive edge to penetrate the African
market even more, and vice versa.
Algerian
Ambassador Abdelhamid Boubazine to Vietnam said two-way trade between Vietnam
and Africa doubled from 2.52 billion USD in 2010 to 5.5 billion USD in 2022.
Assoc.
Prof. Nguyen Thuong Lang, senior lecturer at the National Economics
University’s School
of Trade and International
Economics, said Vietnam needs to fully upgrade its traditional and existing relations with
African countries, promote business connectivity, increase market surveys,
trade fairs, and exhibitions to fully tap existing opportunities and create new
ones, and pay attention to risk management in trade and investment.
Vietnam
should establish new forms of cooperation and share new business and economic
models such as digital business, circular economy and sharing economy, he said,
adding that developing online connectivity platforms can help minimise
transaction costs. It is important to focus on forums, workshops, conferences
and exchanges to gain specific insights into each member and external partner.
Collaboration should be fostered in emerging fields such as renewable energy,
digital transformation, climate change mitigation, and initiatives to achieve
net-zero emissions by 2050.
During two sessions
of the event, delegates discussed solutions to boosting exports-imports via
digital platforms, major orientations to economic developments and proposed
financial mechanisms, policies and measures in support of joint projects with
Africa.
So
far, 46 African countries have officially approved the AfCFTA. Once fully operational, the AfCFTA will become the world's largest free trade area,
encompassing a market of 1.3 billion people and a combined gross domestic product
of up to 3.4 trillion USD./.