Opening an era of deep and dynamic cooperation between Vietnam and Algeria

(Chinhphu.vn) - Over the past six decades, the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Algeria has always been preserved, strengthened and developed on the basis of special ties, political trust and sharing in the history of the two peoples' struggle for independence.

Dr. Kieu Thanh Nga - Deputy Director of the Institute of South Asia - West Asia - Africa Studies (Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences ) - Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Asian-African Studies.

Talking to the Government E-newspaper about the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Algeria as well as promoting cooperation in potential areas of the two countries, Dr. Kieu Thanh Nga - Deputy Director of the Institute of South Asia - West Asia - Africa Studies (Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences) - Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Asian-African Studies emphasized that Vietnam and Algeria always give each other consistent support at multilateral forums, and constantly expand cooperation in many fields. These are precious values, creating depth and lasting vitality for the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

How do you evaluate the good traditional friendship between Vietnam and Algeria over the past time, Madam?

Dr. Kieu Thanh Nga: The good traditional friendship between Vietnam and Algeria not only began in 1962 when the two countries established diplomatic relations, but before that, the two sides understood and shared the spirit of solidarity against colonialism. Vietnam officially recognized the Provisional Government of Algeria (in 1958). Vietnam has realized its foreign policy of solidarity with Algeria through a combination of policy advocacy, material support, cultural diplomacy and many other friendly activities. The Vietnamese and Algerian people understand each other's struggles against colonial rule as a continuation of their own struggles and therefore have given each other strong support.

Over the past six decades, the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Algeria has always been preserved, consolidated and developed on the basis of a special relationship, political trust and shared history of the two peoples' struggle for independence. The Vietnamese community in Algeria is the oldest Vietnamese community in the Arab world. The two countries have always given each other consistent support at multilateral forums, while constantly expanding cooperation in many fields such as economy, culture, education and energy. These are precious values, creating depth and lasting vitality for the bilateral relationship, and at the same time a solid foundation for the Vietnam - Algeria relationship to continue to take off, opening an era of deep and dynamic cooperation.

The Vietnam-Algeria diplomatic relationship was established in 1962 and then expanded to the fields of economic, technical and financial cooperation. Could you tell us what outstanding results have been achieved in the cooperation between the two countries in the above fields, Madam?

Dr. Kieu Thanh Nga: Vietnam - Algeria cooperation is divided into two stages:

1962–1986: Formal bilateral relations were established. Both Vietnam and Algeria wished to strengthen ties through official bilateral channels. The two countries laid the foundation for formal relations based on shared socialist ideals and a commitment to support each other in protecting economic sovereignty. In November 1962, Vietnam opened an embassy in the capital city of Algiers, and in April 1968, Algeria opened an embassy in Hanoi. In 1974, Prime Minister Pham Van Dong visited Algeria and President Houari Boumediene visited Vietnam. Both sides considered economic cooperation as a focus, while political and diplomatic relations were also continuously promoted through maintaining high-level contacts and exchanges. Algeria and Vietnam have built and developed almost similar foreign policies after many years of solidarity in the struggle for independence and through their participation in the Non-Aligned Movement organizations.

Period 1986 to present: Focus on economic cooperation. During this period, the Vietnam - Algeria cooperation relationship has made a strong shift, focusing on common economic growth through attracting foreign investment, increasing bilateral trade, technical and financial cooperation, as well as spreading cultural values ​​to narrow the gap with developed countries. A number of legal documents were signed during this period such as the Bilateral Trade Agreement, Cooperation in the field of culture and information, Investment encouragement and protection, Cooperation agreement between the Trade Promotion Departments of the two countries, Memorandum of Understanding between the two National Chambers of Commerce and Industry... This period also witnessed high-level exchange delegations of the two countries: visits to Vietnam by high-ranking Algerian leaders: President Liamine Zeroual (1996), President Abdelaziz Bouteflika (2000); visits to Algeria by senior Vietnamese leaders: President Tran Duc Luong (1999), Prime Minister Phan Van Khai (2004), President Nguyen Minh Triet (2010), Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (2015).

High-level visits by leaders of both sides have promoted deeper economic cooperation. However, in addition to the foundation of good political relations, leaders of the two countries are still concerned about the fact that trade and investment cooperation is still modest, not commensurate with the potential of both sides (import-export turnover between the two sides in the first 10 months of 2025 reached nearly 500 million USD, an increase of more than 200% compared to the same period in 2024).

Technical and energy cooperation has also achieved many outstanding results, typically the Bir Seba oil and gas project, a cooperation between the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and the Algerian National Oil and Gas Group (Sonatrach), marking the first commercial oil flow from this project in late 2015. As of November 2025, the total production output is estimated to reach nearly 62 million barrels and in the first months of 2025, the output will reach 17,500 to 18,000 barrels of oil per day, becoming a symbol of successful cooperation between Vietnam and Algeria.

Besides economic cooperation, Vietnam's traditional martial art Vovinam has become a cultural bridge between Vietnam and Algeria. Currently, Algeria has more than 300 Vovinam clubs with more than 30,000 students. Algeria also contributes to spreading Vovinam to some other African countries such as Burkina Faso, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Senegal, etc. The Vovinam martial art movement is increasingly expanding and developing strongly in Algeria, becoming a cultural bridge to help enhance mutual understanding between the Vietnamese people and the Algerian people in particular and the African people in general.

From November 18-20, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will pay an official visit and work in Algeria. How can you assess the opportunities for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries that will be opened and enhanced after this trip of the Prime Minister, Madam?

Dr. Kieu Thanh Nga: Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Algeria this time has important significance in promoting the cooperative relationship between the two countries to a new height. opening an era of deep and dynamic cooperation. This is an opportunity for the two sides to discuss and sign new cooperation agreements, especially in areas where Vietnam and Algeria have strengths and complementary needs, such as energy, oil and gas, agriculture, mining, food processing and manufacturing industries. The visit also helps create strong political momentum, encouraging businesses of the two countries to increase investment, expand markets and diversify import and export products. At the same time, promoting economic cooperation mechanisms, trade exchange forums and joint venture projects will contribute to bringing Vietnam - Algeria relations to a new level, maximizing the economic and market potential of both sides.

As mentioned above, Vietnam and Algeria have a strong, long-standing political and diplomatic relationship, actively supporting each other at international forums, and the two countries have similar and suitable models, levels of development, and access to technology. Vietnam - Algeria trade still has a lot of room for cooperation (import and export products do not overlap, the goods of both sides are complementary, the market share of Vietnamese goods to Algeria is still low, while the market share of Algerian goods to Vietnam is also not high). In particular, Algeria is a market with a lot of room for coffee. Oil and gas is still a promising investment cooperation field in the Vietnam - Algeria cooperation relationship. With the success of the joint venture between PVEP and Sonatrach, the two sides continue to give each other opportunities to cooperate to continue exploiting other oil fields in Algeria. With the development and open foreign policies of Vietnam and Algeria, the two sides are encouraging businesses from both countries to strengthen cooperation in the fields of mining, heavy and light industry, energy, telecommunications, information technology, construction, consumer goods production, agriculture and fisheries, oil and gas, renewable energy, metallurgy, finance, banking and agriculture. Vietnam is the gateway to the Asian market while Algeria is the gateway to the African market, close cooperation between the two sides will open up many opportunities for each country to access potential and larger markets.

In your opinion, what efforts need to be promoted in the coming time to make bilateral economic and trade relations commensurate with the political relations and potential of the two countries?

Dr. Kieu Thanh Nga: Reality shows that, in addition to promising results in cooperation, Vietnam and Algeria need to resolve difficulties and barriers in terms of geographical distance, religious culture, business practices and legal frameworks to create favorable conditions for businesses to exploit the market. The absence of records preserving the history of relations between the two nations, or cultural values ​​as soft power in the relationship between the two countries is also hindering and threatening the sustainability of the Vietnam - Algeria cooperation. Therefore, the two countries need to promote efforts to both preserve the traditional friendship and open a new era of cooperation.

First, Vietnam and Algeria continue to strengthen the traditional political-diplomatic relationship, considering politics-diplomacy as an important foundation and mechanism in promoting cooperation. In particular, developing and strengthening the Party diplomatic cooperation channel helps Vietnam and Algeria strengthen political trust and comprehensive cooperation. Establishing forums, cooperation mechanisms and working groups in each country to provide timely support to businesses and people, expanding networks, channels and forms of cooperation.

Second, Vietnam and Algeria need to step up trade and investment promotion, encouraging businesses to seek cooperation opportunities in areas of strength such as agriculture, energy, mining, industrial processing and technology. Building and perfecting cooperation mechanisms, economic forums, fairs, and bilateral working groups will facilitate information exchange, problem solving and effective project implementation.

Third, the two sides need to strengthen technical cooperation, technology transfer and human resource training to improve competitiveness, while making good use of market advantages: Vietnam is the gateway to Asia, Algeria is the gateway to Africa. Strengthening market research, improving connectivity infrastructure and minimizing legal, cultural and business practice barriers will help businesses maximize cooperation potential, thereby developing bilateral economic and trade relations commensurate with the long-standing political relationship between the two countries.

Fourth, cultural and artistic exchange; media cooperation in exchanging television programs and films; building cultural diplomacy channels, establishing official cultural cooperation mechanisms between the two sides; building cultural tours to explore the cultures of the two countries, along with bilateral cultural promotion programs.

Fifth, cooperation in research and academic exchanges, establishing programs for exchanging scholars, researchers and scientific publications; organizing international seminars and conferences and participating in regional scientific networks; cooperating in science and technology projects in joint research, testing and technology transfer; building long-term cooperation mechanisms such as establishing bilateral science and technology cooperation committees, data and knowledge sharing mechanisms. Along with that is the exchange of research on the history of the struggle for independence, traditional culture, international relations, etc. On that basis, it will help future generations have the opportunity to learn, inherit and continuously develop the Vietnam - Algeria relationship over time.

Kieu Lien (performed)

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/mo-ra-ky-nguyen-hop-tac-sau-rong-va-nang-dong-giua-viet-nam-va-algeria-102251114235524201.htm