Reporter: How does the Ambassador evaluate the Vietnam - South Africa relationship?
Ambassador Hoang Sy Cuong: Vietnam and South Africa established official diplomatic relations on December 22, 1993. In fact, the two sides have long had a traditional relationship, with the historic milestone being the meeting between representatives of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and representatives of the African National Congress (ANC) in 1955 during the Bandung Conference, Indonesia. Vietnam's victory in the struggle for national liberation, against colonialism and imperialism, and for national unification was a source of inspiration, strong spiritual encouragement, and reference experience for the struggle of the South African people to overthrow apartheid and build democracy in 1994. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have made constant efforts to develop bilateral relations in a practical manner, achieving good results in many specific areas. Currently, the two countries are each other's leading cooperative partners in Africa and Southeast Asia. In the new period, in the context of the international situation and many regions in the world changing rapidly and complicatedly, with many uncertainties, Vietnam and South Africa still share a close view on security, cooperation and development issues, and are consistent and determined to further tighten bilateral relations. It can be said that the two nations have come a long way together, accompanying and strongly supporting each other in the struggle for independence, freedom, democracy, people's livelihood, progress and social justice.
Reporter: Ambassador , please tell us what results and achievements the Vietnam - South Africa relationship has achieved in the past 30 years?
Ambassador Hoang Sy Cuong: On the basis of the traditional good relationship, stemming from the needs, concerns and efforts of both sides, the relationship between the two countries over the past thirty years has developed well on all channels of the Party, State, and people-to-people exchange; multifaceted cooperation has been strengthened, with good results.
Politically , the two countries have maintained good, trustworthy, close bilateral relations and shared many similarities, as demonstrated by the visits of senior leaders of the two sides: President Thabo Mbeki (2007), Vice President Kgalema Motlanthe (2010), Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa (2016), Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh (1994), Prime Minister Phan Van Khai (2004), Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan (2011), Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai (2015), Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue and Head of the Central Organizing Committee Pham Minh Chinh (2019)... Regular delegation exchanges help maintain and strengthen trust, exchange and share experiences, contributing to orienting specific cooperation between ministries, sectors, organizations, localities and businesses of the two sides. Vietnam and South Africa also coordinate very well in consulting on positions and supporting each other in many important multilateral international forums (United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, South-South Cooperation, etc.). Recently, Vietnam has actively promoted and contributed to South Africa's official recognition as a Sectoral/Industry Dialogue Partner of ASEAN in July 2023, opening up opportunities for South Africa to strengthen relations and penetrate deeper into the dynamically developing Southeast Asian market. South Africa has also supported Vietnam to become an observer of the African Union in 2022; especially recently, as the rotating Chair of the BRICS group, South Africa invited Vietnam to attend the BRICS Summit (August 24, 2023), demonstrating good relations and valuing Vietnam's position and role. So far, South Africa is Vietnam's only Development Cooperation Partner in Africa.
Economic cooperation between the two countries has developed quite well. Two-way trade turnover has increased more than 6 times over the past 15 years, from 192 million USD in 2007 to nearly 1.3 billion USD in 2022. In particular, trade exchanges have remained stable throughout the Covid pandemic, showing that the structure of goods exchange between the two economies is quite stable and complementary. Vietnam mainly exports phones and components, textiles, footwear, agricultural products (coffee, rice, cashews, pepper), and imports fruits (grapes, apples, pears), wood, minerals, and chemicals.
Other areas of cooperation in security, defense, peacekeeping, wildlife and biodiversity management, science, technology and innovation, higher education, justice, tourism, wildlife trafficking prevention, etc. are also of interest to both sides.
Reporter: In the coming time, what needs to be done to further promote the relationship between the two countries to achieve higher efficiency?
Ambassador Hoang Sy Cuong: Overall, the political relationship between the two countries is very good, the two sides share many things in common. But frankly speaking, the effectiveness of economic relations is not commensurate with the political relationship. To gradually improve the effectiveness of the relationship, especially in the economic field, we need to persevere and be determined to promote cooperation in all aspects.
First of all , it is necessary to continue to increase the exchange of delegations, especially at high levels, on all channels and in more diverse forms; continue to promote consultation, coordination and cooperation in multilateral forums to continuously consolidate and build political trust. Strengthen more substantive and effective cooperation between ministries, localities and enterprises of the two countries. Strengthen and deepen the mutual interest and understanding between the people of the two countries, especially the young generation; pay due attention to gradually developing the Vietnamese community in South Africa, which is still modest in number and position, and the South African community in Vietnam. Second, focus on selecting areas where both sides have strengths and needs, and have the potential to complement each other, to focus on increasing the depth of mutually beneficial cooperation (in mining, agriculture, renewable energy, tourism, education and training, trade, logistics, finance and banking, etc.). It is necessary to view the South African market not only with its 60 million people but also as an important gateway to Africa, especially the Southern African region. Similarly, South Africa also values the Vietnamese market with its 100 million people, as well as the broader Southeast Asian market. Of course, there are some difficulties and challenges, especially geographical distance, as well as some limitations and obstacles of both sides, which need to be overcome with a view to long-term benefits. Third , it is necessary to continue to improve the operational efficiency of the Vietnam - South Africa Intergovernmental Partnership Forum, the Vietnam - South Africa Joint Trade Committee and other specialized cooperation mechanisms. It is especially necessary to pay attention to reviewing, updating, negotiating and signing bilateral cooperation documents in all fields, ensuring feasibility and practicality.
Reporter: What are the highlights of the activities to celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Ambassador?
Ambassador Hoang Sy Cuong: Throughout 2023, both Vietnam and South Africa have had very active and exciting activities to celebrate 3 decades of diplomatic relations, creating excitement for promoting bilateral relations. On the Vietnamese side, the number of delegation exchanges at all levels has increased. The Vietnam Day in South Africa program took place in September with many activities on exchanges and promoting Vietnamese culture; The Vietnam - South Africa Economic Cooperation Seminar with the participation of ministries, localities and businesses of the two countries will be the focus of the year. In particular, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan is expected to make an official visit to South Africa in the near future, taking place on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Vice President’s visit is of great significance, contributing to further tightening the traditional friendship between the two countries, and is expected to provide more motivation for both sides to promote substantive and effective cooperation with specific contents, especially for businesses of the two countries to grasp investment and business opportunities. Under the direct guidance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and domestic agencies, the Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa is actively coordinating to prepare for these activities.
Reporter: Thank you, Ambassador./.
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