Vietnam-South Africa Relations: Still Much Room for Development

Thirty years ago, Vietnam and South Africa officially established diplomatic relations. Since then, the traditional friendship between the two countries has continuously developed.

The first Vietnamese Pho Day was held in South Africa. Photo: Hong Minh - VNA.

However, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Hoang Sy Cuong, the two countries still have much room to strengthen effective and substantive cooperation, not only to deepen bilateral relations but also to contribute to cooperation and development between Southeast Asia and Southern Africa.

Key milestones

Vietnam and South Africa officially established diplomatic relations on December 22, 1993. However, friendly relations between the two countries existed long before that, with a historical 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 at the Bandung Conference in Indonesia – a conference that marked the birth of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Following the establishment of diplomatic relations, building upon a foundation of traditionally good relations, and stemming from the needs, interests, and efforts of both sides, relations between the two countries have developed well across all channels—party, state, and people-to-people exchanges; strengthening multifaceted cooperation with positive results.

Specifically, after the Vietnam War ended in 1978, ANC Chairman Oliver Tambo led a delegation of the Party to visit Vietnam to learn about Vietnam's experience in the resistance war against the US.

Less than a year after the two countries established diplomatic relations, in May 1994, Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh made a trip to South Africa to attend the inauguration of President Nelson Mandela. Following that, in March 1995, Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam made his first official visit to South Africa.

In November 2004, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai paid an official visit to South Africa. During this visit, Vietnam and South Africa signed a Joint Declaration on Cooperation and Development; an Agreement on the Establishment of a Partnership Forum on Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation; an Agreement on Visa Exemption for Diplomatic and Official Passports; and announced the establishment of a Joint Vietnam-South Africa Trade Committee.

Three years later, in May 2007, South African President Thabo Mbeki paid his first official visit to Vietnam. During the visit, the two sides signed a Cooperation Agreement between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Minutes of the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Partnership Forum on Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Affairs.

Four years after signing the bilateral trade agreement, in November 2004, the two sides signed a Joint Declaration on Partnership for Cooperation and Development, an Agreement to establish an Intergovernmental Partnership Forum on economic, trade, cultural, and scientific and technical cooperation, an Agreement to establish a Joint Trade Committee, and a Cooperation Agreement between the two Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Subsequently, in May 2007, during the visit of the South African President to Vietnam, the two sides issued a Joint Statement between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of South Africa, signed an Agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports, an Agreement on cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Africa, and the Minutes of the first meeting of the Vietnam-South Africa Intergovernmental Committee.

Subsequently, both sides maintained a strong momentum in political and diplomatic cooperation through exchanges of delegations at all levels, especially at the high level, via Party, State, National Assembly, ministerial, and local channels. They encouraged and facilitated people-to-people exchanges to enhance solidarity and mutual understanding. Regular exchanges helped maintain and strengthen trust, facilitate the sharing of experiences, and contribute to guiding concrete cooperation between ministries, organizations, localities, and businesses on both sides.

On the other hand, Vietnam and South Africa also cooperate very well in consulting on positions and supporting each other in many important multilateral international forums (United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, South-South Cooperation...). Recently, Vietnam actively promoted and contributed to South Africa's official recognition as a Sectoral/Field Dialogue Partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in July 2023, opening opportunities for South Africa to strengthen relations and penetrate deeper into the dynamic Southeast Asian market. For its part, South Africa also supported Vietnam's becoming an observer of the African Union in 2022. In 2023, South Africa, as the rotating Chair of the BRICS group, invited Vietnam to attend the BRICS Expanded Summit (August 24, 2023), demonstrating good relations and valuing Vietnam's position and role.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Hoang Sy Cuong, the positive results in relations between the two countries over the past three decades have laid the foundation for the development of cooperative relations in the future. The Ambassador believes that the two countries still have much room to strengthen effective and substantive cooperation, not only helping to deepen bilateral relations but also contributing to cooperation and development between Southeast Asia and Southern Africa.

Take the relationship to a deeper level.

South Africa is currently Vietnam's largest trading partner and also its largest export market in Africa. Over the past 15 years, bilateral trade has increased more than sixfold, from US$192 million in 2007 to nearly US$1.3 billion in 2022. Notably, trade between the two countries has been maintained throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This demonstrates a relatively stable and complementary structure of goods exchange between the two economies.

Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Hoang Sy Cuong. Photo: Hoang Minh - VNA

Vietnam primarily exports telephones and components, textiles, footwear, and agricultural products (coffee, rice, cashews, pepper) to South Africa. Conversely, South Africa mainly exports fruits (grapes, apples, pears), wood, minerals, and chemicals to Vietnam.

However, Ambassador Hoang Sy Cuong believes that the effectiveness of economic relations between the two countries is currently not commensurate with their political relationship.

To gradually improve the effectiveness of the relationship, especially in the economic sphere, Ambassador Hoang Sy Cuong proposed that both sides need to persistently and resolutely promote cooperation in all areas, especially those where both sides have strengths and needs, and where they can complement each other well. The focus should be on deepening mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of mining, agriculture, energy, education and training, trade, logistics, finance and banking, and in new areas such as digital transformation and the green economy. Both sides should continue to promote measures to facilitate access for each other's goods to each other's markets, while also creating more opportunities for businesses from both sides to access and strengthen investment cooperation.

Regarding agriculture, both sides identified it as a highly promising sector requiring continued cooperation through the implementation or signing of new cooperation agreements, thereby contributing to meeting the needs of each country as well as ensuring global food security. In addition, both sides need to explore expanding cooperation in agricultural science.

On the other hand, both sides need to continue to enhance the effectiveness of the Vietnam-South Africa Intergovernmental Partnership Forum, the Vietnam-South Africa Joint Trade Committee, and other specialized cooperation mechanisms. In particular, attention should be paid to reviewing, updating, negotiating, and signing bilateral cooperation documents in various fields, ensuring their feasibility and practicality.

Furthermore, according to Ambassador Hoang Sy Cuong, both sides need to further strengthen local cooperation, tourism development, cultural exchange, and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Regarding politics, Ambassador Hoang Sy Cuong suggested that in the coming period, the two countries should continue to strengthen exchanges of delegations, especially at the high level, through all channels and in more diverse forms; and at the same time continue to effectively promote consultation, coordination, and cooperation in multilateral forums, especially at the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, and South-South cooperation, in order to continuously consolidate and build political trust.

Thu Van