Vietnam – South Africa trade turnover: Towards 2.4 billion USD

Ms. Kgomotso Ruth Magau: Vietnam will enter the Top 10 strongest exporting countries in South Africa in the near future.

The Vietnam - South Africa Business Meeting and Workshop was jointly organized by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Ho Chi Minh City (VCCI), the South African Embassy in Vietnam, the South African Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City and the South African Ministry of Industry and Trade.

More than 200 businesses attended the workshop.

Vietnamese businesses share business experiences with South Africa

Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Kabelo Kenneth Malatsi, Deputy Director of Trade & Investment Promotion (Ministry of Industry and Trade of South Africa) said: South Africa is a country with many free trade agreements with Europe, America... with abundant mineral resources, the most modern technical infrastructure in Africa and is considered the gateway to Africa.

With the aim of strengthening trade cooperation and creating opportunities for exchange and establishing business relations for the business communities of the two countries, with our mission, we proactively remove existing bottlenecks in state regulations and policies, expanding incentives for foreign investors to have easier access to the South African and African markets.

Sharing about the similarities between the two countries, Ms. Kgomotso Ruth Magau - Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa to Vietnam emphasized: South Africa and Vietnam have many things in common in terms of culture, history, people, etc., which creates a close bond between the people of the two countries. Even the demand for Vietnamese goods of South African consumers is increasing day by day.

Specifically: South Africa imports most of Vietnam's export products such as rice, coffee, pepper, cashew nuts, footwear, ready-made clothes, household electrical appliances, plastic products, electronics, handicrafts, seafood, etc.

Therefore, this workshop is not only an opportunity for businesses of the two countries to fully connect information, meet each other's strengths, exploit the potential from the negotiations, but also contribute to strengthening trust, minimizing unnecessary legal disputes, while creating job opportunities, technology transfer opportunities and helping consumers have more choices of goods.

Ms. Magau also emphasized: 3 factors that determine the value of the South African market in attracting investors, which are South Africa is the largest mineral exporter in Africa; South Africa increases income opportunities and South Africa owns the most sustainable development infrastructure in the world. And with these advantages, the ambassador hopes that Vietnam will enter the Top 10 strongest exporting countries in South Africa in the near future.

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of South Africa to Vietnam presented a letter of commendation from the South African government to Ms. Do Thi Kim Lien.

In her role as South African Consul in Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Do Thi Kim Lien frankly admitted: Ho Chi Minh City and Johannesburg have had the advantage of being twinned since 2009, and have held many seminars, but so far, the actual results have not achieved the desired goals. However, with extensive image promotion efforts from both sides, many Vietnamese business communities now know a lot about South Africa and vice versa, South African business communities know a lot about Vietnam.

“With the figure of 1.2 billion USD in export turnover to South Africa in 2015, mainly the items: iron and steel, chemicals, cotton of all kinds, fertilizers and imports from this market mainly the items: footwear, textiles, coffee, rice, gemstones, precious metals, wood, electronics and components, seafood, milk, coal, instant noodles, ... the two countries consider this as a sign of good change for the bilateral cooperation relationship between Vietnam and South Africa.

Delegates took souvenir photos with Ms. Do Thi Kim Lien.

Currently, together with the Embassy, ​​we are trying to promote Vietnamese agricultural products, garment and footwear exports, etc. and trade turnover to 2.4 billion USD in 2016. These are the goals we want to achieve" - ​​Ms. Lien emphasized.

On this occasion, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of South Africa to Vietnam, Ms. Kgomotso Ruth Magau, presented a letter of commendation from the South African government to the LSDD of the Republic of South Africa in Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Do Thi Kim Lien for her active contributions to promoting and building the image of South Africa in Vietnam./.

According to VOV