Trade office, embassy explore chances for Vietnamese firms in Africa

Algiers (VNA) – The Trade Office and Embassy of Vietnam in Algeria are attending the ninth African Investment and Commerce Forum (AFIC9) in Algiers on May 16-17 to popularise Vietnamese goods and seek investment and business opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises.

AFIC9, held by the Arab-African Centre for Investment and Development (CAAID), aims to connect over 650 economic agents, including investors, leaders of regional and international organisations, experts, researchers, and representatives of trade offices of 37 countries.

Aside from joining workshops on trade and investment in Algeria and Africa, the Trade Office and Embassy of Vietnam have displayed and introduced a number of Vietnamese commodities such as coffee, tea, rice, peppercorn, cashew nut, milk, canned products, and handicrafts. Lists of reputable exporters and catalogues have also been distributed to participants.

Besides, the Trade Office has met with Algerian and African businesses to learn about their demand and explore opportunities for business and investment partnerships with Vietnamese firms.

Hoang Duc Nhuan, Trade Counsellor of Vietnam in Algeria, said Vietnam and African countries hold much potential for trade and investment cooperation, noting that bilateral trade and investment have been growing well over the past years.

Trade between Vietnam and Africa reached 5.4 billion USD in 2022, including 2.8 billion USD in Vietnam’s exports. The main African trade partners of the Southeast Asian nation include Egypt, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Algeria, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Last year, Vietnam attracted about 2.7 billion USD in investment from Africa with such major investors as Seychelles, Mauritius, and Angola. Meanwhile, it had invested 2.4 billion USD in 17 African countries as of February 2022, with the biggest recipients being Algeria, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Burundi.

Nhuan held that Algeria and Africa’s promotion of integration, especially via the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), is creating numerous chances for Vietnamese enterprises.

Companies of Vietnam can directly invest in some countries with big populations, political stability, and abundant material supply so as to capitalise on the AfCFTA to export goods to other African countries, he suggested.

Despite certain difficulties related to geographical distance and trade rules, if Vietnamese enterprises thoroughly learn about African markets, they can successfully enter these markets since most of the African firms have demand for imports to serve the growing population and consumer goods demand in the continent, which can be considered highly potential for strong exports of Vietnam, he added./.