Vietnam asks South Africa to support promoting FTA negotiations with the Southern African Customs Union

VTV.vn - On the afternoon of October 22, at the Government Headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son received South African Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ronald Lamola.

Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son received South African Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ronald Lamola - Photo: VGP

At the reception, the Deputy Prime Minister welcomed Minister Ronald Lamola to accompany South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on a State visit to Vietnam, emphasizing that this was the first visit to Vietnam by a South African President in nearly 20 years, and believed that the visit would create new momentum to promote breakthrough development in the relationship between the two countries in the coming years.

The Deputy Prime Minister assessed that in recent times, the relationship between the two countries has continued to develop steadily, in which political relations have been strengthened through contacts and exchanges of high-level delegations. South Africa is currently Vietnam's largest trade partner and export market in Africa, with two-way trade turnover reaching 1.8 billion USD in 2024.

The Deputy Prime Minister believes that within the framework of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to Vietnam, the two sides will discuss and agree on major orientations and measures to upgrade bilateral relations to a new level; expand cooperation in priority areas such as mining, metallurgy, renewable energy, textiles, fertilizers, processed food, supporting industries, education and training, and agriculture - a traditional and effective area of ​​cooperation between the two countries.

The Deputy Prime Minister asked South Africa to support and closely cooperate with Vietnam in promoting negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the Southern African Customs Union, contributing to realizing the goal of raising bilateral trade turnover to 2 billion USD.

The Deputy Prime Minister also highly appreciated South Africa's role and position in the African region, as well as its proactive role in multilateral forums; expressed his wish that the two sides continue to coordinate and support each other in multilateral forums; believed that South Africa will successfully organize the G20 Summit next November, contributing to promoting global economic growth through further connecting developed and developing economies; affirmed that Vietnam is committed to making responsible and constructive contributions to the overall success of this conference.

South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola expressed his joy at visiting Vietnam for the first time, admiring the Vietnamese people's will and aspiration for national independence and the country's development achievements in recent times.

Minister Ronald Lamola said the South African President highly appreciated Vietnam's role and position in the region and the world, affirming that he looked forward to the historic visit to Vietnam to discuss and agree on specific measures with senior Vietnamese leaders to upgrade the bilateral relationship to a new level.

Appreciating the proposals of Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son, Minister Ronald Lamola said that, on the basis of good political relations and sharing many similarities, the two countries still have much potential for cooperation, especially in the fields of economics, trade, investment, education and training.

Minister Ronald Lamola also appreciated Vietnam's hosting of the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime; affirmed his readiness to cooperate with Vietnam in this important field.

Source: https://vtv.vn/viet-nam-de-nghi-nam-phi-ung-ho-thuc-day-dam-phan-fta-voi-lien-minh-thue-quan-mien-nam-chau-phi-100251022221623056.htm