The first secretary of the South African Embassy in Vietnam, Adriaan du Pisanie, has met with trade officials and 60 businesses from Da Nang city and the central region to discuss possible trade deals.

At a conference themed “Vietnam – South Africa trade, investment and tourism promotion” in the central city of Da Nang on August 7, it was reported that South Africa is currently Vietnam’s largest trade partner in the African market.

The country also serves as a bridge linking Vietnam and other countries in the southern region of Africa.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and South Africa saw a nearly four-fold surge from 2007 to 750 million USD in 2012. It marked the figure of 329 million USD in the first six months of this year.

In recent years, Vietnam’s key exports to South Africa were cell phones, rice, footwear, garments and textiles, machinery, wooden products, and household appliances.

The two countries’ strategic partnership, especially in economics, has been growing, heard the conference.

In addition to trade exchange, numerous cooperation and exchange programmes in tourism, culture, education, and science and technology have been carried out.-VNA