Vietnam-South Africa Business Forum held in Johannesburg

The Vietnam-South Africa Business Forum was held in Johannesburg on November 21 as part of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s trip to South Africa to attend G20 Summit and conduct bilateral engagements in South Africa, at the invitation of  South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Addressing the forum, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh  called on South African businesses to invest in Vietnam in such sectors as innovation, green economy, and digital economy.

The Vietnamese Prime Minister was quoted by the Government News as saying that the two sides should strengthen collaboration in areas of energy and minerals, including renewable energy, infrastructure, construction, and logistics, high-tech agriculture and food processing, digital economy, telecommunications, and services, as well as education, training, and technology transfer.

Remarkably, the Prime Minister called on Vietnamese enterprises to invest in agricultural production in South Africa, especially rice and other farm products while the Vietnam National Industry-Energy Group and the Vietnam Electricity can invest in South Africa in the fields of energy, oil and gas, and renewable energy.

Prime Minister Chinh urged the two countries to upgrade the Intergovernmental Committee coordinated by the two countries' Foreign Ministers, while also promoting the signing of new agreements to facilitate trade and investment cooperation, and establishing new working groups between both sides' enterprises.

Speaking at the event, South African Vice President Paul Shipokosa Mashatile said that South Africa encourages Vietnamese enterprises to seek investment opportunities in its special economic zones and calls on South African businesses to invest in Vietnam's industrial clusters and technology zones.

South Africa supports cooperation between the two countries' Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Vice President noted.

As this year's G20 host, South Africa emphasized that cooperation among emerging countries and the business community is the driving force of this process, adding that the two Governments stand ready to support their business communities and elevate bilateral trade and investment relations for sustainable prosperity, he added.

South Africa is Vietnam's largest trading partner and export market in Africa. Bilateral trade in 2024 reached $1.72 billion, of which Vietnam's export value amounted to about $773 million.