Vietnam - Argentina: New cooperation opportunities in economics, technology, and people-to-people exchange

On December 2 in Hanoi, the Institute for European and American Studies (Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences) in collaboration with the Embassy of Argentina in Vietnam organized an international scientific seminar on "Argentina's foreign policy and Vietnam - Argentina relations in the coming time". Delegates discussed Argentina's new policy orientation, potential for bilateral cooperation and steps to develop the relationship between the two countries more substantially in the coming time.

Solid political and diplomatic foundation

In his opening speech, Prof. Dr. Le Van Loi, President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, said that the Vietnam-Argentina relationship, established in 1973, has continuously developed in many fields after more than half a century. The two countries promote cooperation in all channels of Party diplomacy, State diplomacy , and people-to-people diplomacy; promote the strengths that both sides have in agriculture, trade, education, tourism, sports, and culture. The two sides are also expanding cooperation in a number of new fields such as industry, high-tech agriculture, digital transformation, innovation, climate change response, sustainable growth, and exchanges between localities, moving towards considering establishing a Strategic Partnership framework in the fields of industry, agriculture, and energy. Argentina opened an Attaché Office in charge of the industry and agriculture sector in Vietnam in July 2025, along with many important cooperation agreements signed and implemented by the two sides in the fields of security, justice, science, communications and the political consultation mechanism at the Deputy Minister level.

International scientific seminar "Argentina's foreign policy and Vietnam - Argentina relations in the coming time". (Photo: Thanh Luan)

Regarding the economy, Prof. Dr. Le Van Loi said that bilateral trade turnover has increased continuously, reaching 4.1 billion USD in 2024 and Vietnam and Argentina are actively promoting negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) as well as the Vietnam - South American Common Market (Mercosur) FTA. The two sides also have a lot of room to promote investment cooperation, especially in mining, green energy and liquefied gas from shale, but the current results are still not commensurate with the potential. In addition, cultural, educational and people-to-people cooperation is still limited, while the needs and expectations of the two countries are very large, demonstrated by the desire to open direct flights and increase exchange activities. He affirmed that the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences - the only agency in Vietnam with a specialized research center on Latin America - will continue to play a bridging role in academic cooperation, research and business connection. This dialogue, according to him, is an opportunity for the two sides to review their friendly relations, discuss foreign policies and propose solutions to promote more substantive cooperation, towards the possibility of upgrading the relationship to a Strategic Partnership in areas where both sides have complementary strengths.

Many new opportunities

Argentine Ambassador to Vietnam Marcos Antonio Bednarski provided an overview of Argentina, key national policies reflected in the "May Accords", economic and trade orientations and foreign policy priorities of Argentina. The Ambassador emphasized that Argentina considers Mercosur an effective tool to promote trade and supports the initiation of FTA negotiations between Mercosur and Vietnam.

Argentine Ambassador to Vietnam Marcos Antonio Bednarski speaks at the seminar. (Photo: Thanh Luan)

He reviewed many typical technical cooperation projects between the two countries such as building capacity for high-yield soybean production; improving disease resistance of rice plants in Vietnam and Argentina; cooperation in tropical fruit production; developing technological innovation for the dairy industry and dairy products; improving capacity to identify martyrs in the Vietnam War... Many important agreements are being promoted for negotiation: Vietnam - Mercosur FTA, Strategic Partnership Agreement in the field of industry and agriculture, Aviation Connection Agreement; Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement; Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement.

Dr. Loc Thi Thuy (Institute for European and American Studies) presented a paper on Vietnam's foreign policy towards the Latin American region in the coming time, including Argentina. She emphasized that with the policy of multilateralization and diversification of international relations, Vietnam wishes to continue promoting relations with traditional partners and friendly friends in Latin America, in which Argentina holds an important position. Through cooperation with Argentina, Vietnam hopes to expand access to the Mercosur market, especially in economics and trade. She mentioned a series of areas with the potential to become the focus of cooperation between the two countries, including agriculture and high-tech agriculture, information technology, tourism, people-to-people and cultural exchange, etc.

Dr. Loc Thi Thuy (Institute for European and American Studies) presented a paper at the seminar. (Photo: Thanh Luan)

She proposed a number of solutions to strengthen bilateral relations: maintaining regular visits to strengthen understanding and trust; effectively promoting existing bilateral and multilateral mechanisms, while promoting cooperation in potential areas such as tourism, culture, education and sports; stepping up bilateral FTA negotiations and moving towards a Vietnam - Mercosur FTA.

According to Dr. Loc Thi Thuy, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences can coordinate to organize online and in-person seminars and conferences on investment, trade, and tourism promotion between localities and ministries and sectors of the two countries; at the same time, promote twinning between localities of Vietnam and Argentina to take advantage of existing advantages. She emphasized the role of cultural and people-to-people exchanges, especially in the context that Vietnam is promoting the establishment of the Vietnam - Argentina Friendship Association and the Vietnam - Argentina Friendship Parliamentarians Group. She said that investment cooperation in information technology and human resource training is also a necessary direction to deepen the relationship between the two countries in the coming time.

During the discussion, delegates were interested in educational cooperation, scholarships, research links, agricultural technology cooperation, sports, etc. and received direct feedback from the Argentine Ambassador to Vietnam.

Concluding the discussion, Associate Professor Dr. Ta Minh Tuan, Vice President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, said that research on Latin America in Vietnam is still thin, so conferences like this one are of practical significance, helping to increase understanding and open up new cooperation opportunities. He expressed his desire to continue maintaining connections with the Argentine Embassy in Vietnam and among researchers, in order to form a research community on Latin America and Argentina; at the same time, he affirmed that the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences will continue to support research activities and conferences in the coming time.

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/viet-nam-argentina-co-hoi-hop-tac-moi-trong-kinh-te-cong-nghe-giao-luu-nhan-dan-218103.html