Plenty of opportunities for trade expansion with South Africa: Official
There are plenty of opportunities for Vietnamese goods to enter South Africa and the regional countries, and for the two sides to boost business in multiple areas, Pham Thanh Hai, head of the Trade Office in South Africa, told Vietnam News Agency on August 19.
Head of the Vietnamese Trade Office in South Africa Pham Thanh Hai attends a virtual meeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Vietnamese trade offices overseas on August 19. (Photo: VNA)
Pretoria (VNA) – There are plenty ofopportunities for Vietnamese goods to enter South Africa and the regionalcountries, and for the two sides to boost business in multiple areas, PhamThanh Hai, head of the Trade Office in South Africa, told VietnamNews Agency on August 19.
South Africa has been the African country with the largesttwo-way trade volume with Vietnam, he said on the sidelines of a virtualmeeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Vietnamese trade officesoverseas.
The annual bilateral trade stood at over 1.3 billion USD,with Vietnam’s exports to South Africa exceeding 800 million USD and imports,nearly 500 million USD.
Hai outlined three fields that the two countries should focuson in order to strengthen bilateral relations – trade of fruits, investment, andtrade of fuel and materials.
To boost fruit exports to South Africa, he advisedVietnamese exporters to pay more attention to processing and selling highvalue-added products, such as canned juices, dried fruits, jams, and fruit teas.
Vietnam has imported a large volume of coal from SouthAfrica as input for thermal power plants over the last several years, hesaid, adding that the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the SouthAfrican Department of Mineral Resources and Energy will sign a memorandum ofunderstanding to enhance cooperation in mining in the coming time.
He noted that it is the highest official agreement in miningbetween the two governments, expected to facilitate bilateral trade in miningand energy./.
Vietnam is determined to bolster the comprehensive partnership with South Africa – an important cooperation and development partner in Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Hieu has stated.
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Head of the Vietnamese Trade Office in South Africa Pham Thanh Hai attends a virtual meeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Vietnamese trade offices overseas on August 19. (Photo: VNA)
