The South African -Vietnam joint committee on trade cooperation held its fifth meeting in Johannesburg on Thursday to seek ways to foster bilateral economic and trade partnerships between the two nations.
South African Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Nomalungelo Gina stressed the importance of SA’s relationship with Vietnam, adding that the signing and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will create investment opportunities in a larger and more open continental market for Vietnamese businesses.
In his part, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh said the event will contribute to deepening the good political, diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries on the basis of mutual benefits.
The trade between Vietnam and South Africa hit a record of nearly 1.4 billion USD in 2020. Despite being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the figure reached nearly 1.3 billion USD in 2021 and 1.1 billion USD in the first 10 months of 2022.
Khanh also pointed out difficulties in economic and trade relations between the two countries, adding that the bilateral turnover is not commensurate with the inherent potential of the two nations.
He proposed the two sides enhance the sharing of information on trade and investment policies and import-export regulations, promote coordination and mutual support in trade and investment promotion activities, and study cooperation opportunities in logistics and other potential industrial fields such as mining, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, iron and steel, renewable energy, and food processing.
