Argentina invites Vietnam to participate in agricultural, energy and mineral projects

Ambassador Marcos Antonio Bednarski said that Vietnam is playing an increasingly important role in Argentina's economic and technical cooperation in Southeast Asia.

On the afternoon of November 17 in Hanoi, at the workshop “Investment opportunities in Argentina: Large Investment Incentives (RIGI) and strategic sectors”, Argentine Ambassador to Vietnam Marcos Antonio Bednarski emphasized that Vietnam is emerging as one of Argentina’s key partners in Southeast Asia. The workshop, organized by the Argentine Embassy, ​​gathered representatives of many Vietnamese ministries and sectors along with dozens of businesses in the fields of agriculture , logistics, food, technology and investment.

The workshop “Investment opportunities in Argentina: The Large Investment Incentive Scheme (RIGI) and strategic sectors” was held at the Embassy of Argentina in Hanoi . Photo: Linh Linh.

Putting the issue of cooperation in a broader context, the Ambassador said that Argentina is the third largest economy in Latin America, a member of the G20 (Group of 20 major economies), MERCOSUR (South American Common Market), WTO (World Trade Organization), and is in the process of joining the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). He said that these evidences reflect a market that is “stable, open and large enough to become a long-term partner of Vietnam”.

Bilateral relations between the two countries reached an important step forward after Argentina opened the Office of the Argentine Industry and Agriculture Attaché in Vietnam in July 2024. This office immediately supported the preparation for the 8th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee in October, and the two sides agreed on a new cooperation program on market opening, quarantine transparency and increased technical exchanges. “This is a tool that helps us access Vietnam's needs faster, more accurately and closer to businesses,” he said.

Regarding agricultural trade, the mainstay of bilateral trade, the Ambassador said that Argentina is negotiating to open the Vietnamese market to pork, along with apples, pears and some other agricultural products that benefit from temperate climates. He explained that exports to Vietnam currently focus on animal feed ingredients due to the actual needs of the domestic livestock industry. However, Argentina is aiming to diversify its products, based on the items that the Vietnamese market demands and that Argentina has the capacity to supply.

In terms of technical cooperation, the Ambassador emphasized that Vietnam is currently the country receiving the most projects under the FO.AR program (Argentina's South-South and Trilateral Cooperation Fund) in Southeast Asia. These projects include research on high-yield rice and soybean varieties, milk processing technology and tropical fruit tree development. According to him, research institutes and universities of the two countries are preparing to build new projects next year, focusing on precision agriculture, crop and livestock management and food processing technology. These are areas in which Argentina has strengths and can support Vietnam in the direction of knowledge exchange and technology transfer.

Argentina is ready to expand contact with Vietnamese businesses in areas of strength such as agriculture, energy and minerals, based on market demand and the opening process being promoted between the two countries. Photo: United Soybean Board.

In parallel with the Ambassador's presentation, Mr. Francisco Franco Martinez, Head of the Embassy's Economic, Trade and Investment Section, briefly introduced the Large Investment Incentive Scheme (RIGI). This policy was legalized from August 2024 to attract projects of 200 million USD or more in strategic sectors such as mining, energy, oil and gas, infrastructure, tourism, forestry, technology and steel. RIGI offers major incentives including reducing corporate income tax to 25%, allowing accelerated depreciation, indefinite loss carryover, exemption from import tax on capital goods and exemption from export tax from the third year. Investors are free to access foreign currency to transfer profits and pay financial obligations. A series of projects worth hundreds of millions to billions of USD in energy, lithium, copper and steel have registered for this mechanism, showing Argentina's determination in investment reform and market opening.

From the foundations and ongoing activities, Ambassador Bednarski assessed that Vietnam has a significant role in Argentina's regional cooperation orientation. He said that the two countries are facing a favorable period to expand economic relations, especially in areas where both have needs and strengths such as agriculture, energy and minerals.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/argentina-moi-goi-viet-nam-tham-gia-cac-du-an-nong-nghiep-nang-luong-khoang-san-d784886.html