Buenos Aires (VNA) – A forum was held in BuenosAires on March 23 to give Argentinean businesses an insight into Vietnam’seconomy and the two countries’ economic, trade and investment cooperationpotential, which is said to remain untapped.

The event was attended by Gustavo Perego –Undersecretary of State at Argentina’s Ministry of Economy and Production,Carlos Restaino – President of the country’s Commission for Integration andSouthern Common Market (Mercosur), and representatives of more than 50Argentinean enterprises.

Opening the forum, Vietnamese Ambassador toArgentina Nguyen Dinh Thao briefed participants on Vietnam’s economicdevelopment and incentives for foreign investors. He highlighted the expansionof bilateral cooperation in politics – diplomacy, economy, trade, investment,agriculture, health care, science and technology.

Two-way trade has increased significantly overthe past few years, reaching 3.03 billion USD in 2016 and expected to hit 3.5billion USD this year. Along with Mexico and Brazil, Argentina is one of thethree Latin American countries posing trade of over 1 billion USD with Vietnam.

However, those results have not yet matchedpotential, he noted.


In the time ahead, the countries will continuediscussing the feasibility of negotiations for the signing of a trade agreementbetween Vietnam and Mercosur, which gathers Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay,Uruguay, and Venezuela. They will also step up collaboration in culture,agriculture, bio-technology, forensic medicine, telecommunications, energy, andpharmaceuticals, he added.

Carlos Restaino analysed the enormous potentialfor economic, trade and investment partnerships between the countries’ businessesamid growing political relations.

He stressed that Vietnam is a prioritised marketin his country’s export diversification and expansion strategy. It is also oneof the most important trade partners and the third biggest importer ofArgentina in Asia. 

Argentina’s main exports to Vietnam includesoybean oil, corn, wheat, animal feed and pharmaceutical. Meanwhile, it importsfootwear, apparel, rubber, electronic components, and plastic products from theSoutheast Asian nation.-VNA