Vietmam, South Africa look to beef up trade ties
Pretoria (VNA) - The Vietnam – South African joint committee on trade
cooperation convened its fifth meeting in Johannesburg on November 24 to seek
ways to foster bilateral economic and trade partnerships.
South African Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Nomalungelo Gina stated that her country always attaches importance to the
relationship with Vietnam, adding
that the signing and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area
(AfCFTA) will create investment opportunities in a larger and more open
continental market for Vietnamese businesses.
For his part, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh said the event will contribute to deepening
the good political, diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries
on the basis of mutual benefits.
Two-way trade between Vietnam and South Africa hit a record of nearly 1.4
billion USD in 2020. Despite being effected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the
figure reached nearly 1.3 billion USD in 2021 and 1.1 billion USD in the first
10 months of 2022.
Khanh also pointed out difficulties in economic and trade
relations between the two countries, adding that the bilateral turnover is not
commensurate with the inherent potential of the two nations.
He proposed the two sides to enhance the sharing of information
on trade and investment policies and import - export regulations, promote
coordination and mutual support in trade and investment promotion activities, and study
cooperation opportunities in logistics and other potential industrial fields
such as mining, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, iron and steel, renewable
energy, and food processing.
Participants discussed issues of mutual concern and opportunities
for cooperation in the future, and mentioned relevant difficulties and advantages.
The two sides agreed to organise the 6th meeting of
the committee in Vietnam in 2023./.