Vietnam expects to sign free trade agreements with the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in 2025, the Government News quoted Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh as stating at a Cabinet meeting held in Hanoi on November 8.
At the meeting, the Government chief also urged inferior levels to carry out large-scaled, high-quality trade promotion programs in key markets such as the EU, the U.S., Japan and South Korea.
The above moves reflect the country's efforts to diversify trade relations in a bid to achieve the growth goal of at least 8 percent in 2025 and double-digit growth in the years beyond.
The Vietnamese economy expanded 8.22% in July-September period compared to 7.96% in second quarter and 6.93% in the first quarter, indicating strong growth momentum despite adverse weather conditions. To achieve the whole-year goal, the economy needs to grow 8.4 percent in the fourth quarter.
Many international organizations have revised up their growth projections for Vietnam in 2025. In October, Standard Chartered Bank raised its forecast for Vietnam's 2025 growth to 7.5% from 6.1% at the end of July and 7.2% for 2026.
Singapore-based UOB Bank upgraded its 2025 growth forecast to 7.5% from 6.9% earlier, while the Asian Development Bank (ADB) increased its growth projection to 6.7% for Vietnam in this year.
In its latest report, HSBC raised its 2025 gross domestic product growth forecast for Vietnam to 7.9%, from its previous prediction of 6.6%.
"While exports from other ASEAN countries to the U.S. have experienced a slight decline as the impact of earlier frontloading activities fades, Vietnam's trade performance has remained strong with double-digit growth. Even more encouragingly, Vietnam's retained trade surplus has more than doubled to $3 billion in the third quarter compared with the first half of 2025," HSBC said, as quoted by the Government News.
According to the National Statistics Office, Vietnam's trade with the rest of the world increased by 17.4% to over $762.4 billion in the first ten months this year. Of this figure, export value rose by 16.2% to $391 billion.
Foreign direct investment inflows reach $31.5 billion, up 15.6% against the same period last year while the disbursed volume was estimated to reach five-year high of at $21.3 billion.
Vietnam welcomed 1.73 million international visitors in October — the highest figure ever for a single month, raising the total number of foreign arrivals to more than 17.2 million, a year-on-year increase of 21.5%.
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