Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai (left); South African Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa (Photo: VNA)
Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai and South African Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa discussed a number of measures to boost cooperation between the two countries during talks in Pretoria on August 4.
The leaders agreed that there is untapped potential for Vietnam-South Africa cooperation in various fields such as national defence, science-technology, shipbuilding industry, and economy-trade-investment as well as agriculture and aquatic breeding and processing.
Vice President Ramaphosa welcomed Hai’s official visit to South Africa, which he said holds significant meaning as the two nations develop comprehensive collaboration.
It also creates an opportunity for the two sides to review and evaluate the bilateral cooperation in recent years and seek measures to push their sound traditional friendship forward, he noted.
He confirmed South Africa attaches great importance to relations with Vietnam – a promising market and an important gateway in the Southeast Asian region.
He also highlighted the long-standing relations between the African National Congress (ANC) Party and the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) which were established 60 years ago.
For his part, Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai congratulated South Africa on its remarkable attainments from economy and politics to external affairs.
He highlighted the increasingly important role of South Africa in international organisations such as the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the G-20 Group and the BRICS – including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
After talks, Vice President Ramaphosa told a press conference that the ongoing visit of the Vietnamese delegation is expected to open up new win-win cooperation opportunities between the two countries.
The outcomes of the talks will create a strong foundation for both countries to enhance trade and investment links, he noted, expressing his belief that trade, which stood at 1 billion USD last year, would double in the years to come.
He added that South Africa hopes to expand exports to Vietnam and strengthen cooperation with the country in poverty reduction.-VNA
