Vietnam offers gateway for Middle East, Africa goods
Vietnam is willing to be a gateway for goods and services from the Middle East and Africa to navigate the markets of ASEAN member states, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh said.
Vietnam is willing to be a gateway for goods and services from the Middle East and Africa to navigate the markets of ASEAN member states, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh said at a seminar held by the Foreign Ministry in Hanoi on October 20.
He expressed his satisfaction with the eight-fold increase in bilateral trade between Vietnam and the Middle East and Africa over the past 10 years from 2 billion USD in 2005 to 15.7 billion USD in 2014.
A number of Middle East and African firms have invested in key Vietnamese projects in the fields of oil and gas, seaports, industry and construction materials.
Moreover, joint work in labour exports, exchanges of medical staff and collaboration in the farming and education sectors are also a spotlight in multi-faceted cooperation between the two sides.
The Vietnamese government has committed all possible support to foreign enterprises and those from the Middle East and Africa in particular, he stated.
In his speech, Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Mukhisa Kituyi said Vietnam is among the few countries that have a traditional friendship and business cooperation with the Middle East and Africa.
He hoped the seminar would map out new solutions to fine-tune legal regulations that facilitate business networking and diverse bilateral collaboration.
Vietnamese businesses, particularly those operating on small and medium scales, must improve their competitiveness to expand their operations into the Middle East and Africa, said the UN official.
Participants presented their ideas featuring bilateral economic prospects at the seminar, including investment attraction opportunities and recommendations for Vietnam-Africa farming and fisheries coordination.-VNA
The Presidential Council of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) began its sixth congress in Johannesburg on Feb. 9 with nearly 100 delegates and guests from five continents taking part.
South Africa has always prioritised trade, investment and cooperation with Vietnam, and this year, it will offer even more investment opportunities for businesses from Vietnam and Da Nang.
Vietnamese goods caught the interest of South African partners at the 22nd Southern African International Trade Exhibition, which took place in Johannesburg city from June 21-23.
Representatives of Vietnamese and South African authorities and businesses came together in Cape Town, South Africa, to explore the potential for investment and tourism in the two countries.
A key change in the draft decree is a provision requiring bank transfers for gold transactions valued at 20 million VND (765 USD) and above, to enhance transparency and verify customer identities.
In the first four months of 2025, trade turnover between Vietnam and Cambodia surpassed 3 billion USD, marking a 7% increase compared to the same period in 2024.
On June 19 alone, a total of 2,005 trucks completed customs clearance at Lang Son’s border gates — the highest single-day figure ever recorded in the province. Of these, 634 carried exports and 1,371 imports.
The OECD Economic Surveys: Vietnam 2025 report focuses on analysing the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals, the impact of international integration on attracting foreign investment and trade, and the country’s prospects for developing a low-carbon economy.
Antoine Colin, Senior Vice President for Global Supply Chain Digital Transformation & Resilience at HP Inc., affirmed HP’s strategic commitment to building a supply chain and ecosystem in Vietnam and the region.
Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s Trade Promotion Agency Bui Quang Hung emphasised that logistics has evolved from a technical function into a core capability for Vietnamese exporters to maintain their competitive advantage in the US market.
A trade official has suggested companies work closely with shipping lines, airlines, and freight forwarders to monitor routes, transit times, and potential surcharges while exploring broader cargo insurance to cover risks like war and terrorism.
In addition to institutional reform, the agency is also rolling out key solution groups to combat counterfeit goods, imitations, and intellectual property infringements in the digital environment.
The event, co-organised by the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK and TT Meridian, a local importer of Vietnamese fresh produce, aims to build a national lychee brand and encourage broader recognition of Vietnamese fruits in a competitive, high-end market.
The industry's performance has been powered by bold investments in modern production lines, enabling Vietnamese firms to produce complicated products which were exclusive to advanced economies.
Outcomes of ABAC III will shape ABAC’s final policy recommendations to be submitted to the ABAC-APEC leaders’ dialogue, scheduled to take place in the Republic of Korea this November.
This is the second year the magazine has released the ranking, which is based on total revenue and key financial indicators of enterprises from seven countries in the region: Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Cambodia.
At the summit, publishing, tech, and media sectors will discuss emerging trends, business models, and sustainable solutions for digital publishing development in Vietnam.
This year’s “Vietnam Goods Week” marks a significant milestone as it is being held simultaneously for the first time in four locations across Asia: Japan, Hong Kong (China), Cambodia, and Malaysia, from June 19 - 22.
According to NordCham Vietnam Chairman Thue Quist Thomasen, the Vietnamese Government’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 is both a challenge and an opportunity for businesses to contribute to green and sustainable growth.
The analysis from an investment perspective shows that the economy’s growth has been heavily capital‑driven, yet efficiency remains low as reflected by Vietnam’s Incremental Capital-Output Ratio (ICOR) being significantly higher than global and regional averages. This underscores the imperative to enhance capital‑use efficiency.
Illustrative image (Source: VNA)
