At the meeting (Sourc: VNA)Pretoria (VNA) - Representatives from the TradePromotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam andSouth Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry met onJune 25 to discuss ways to boost trade cooperation between the two countries.
The event was part of the Vietnamese delegation’s trip to attend the South African International Trade Exhibition 2019 (SAITEX) inJohannesburg.
Bui Thi Thanh An - deputy head of the Trade Promotion Agency,appreciated the efforts made by the two sides in the last decade to lifttwo-way trade to more than 1 billion USD in 2018 from 658 million USD in 2010.
AlthoughVietnam-South Africa trade turnover has increased for years, there is stillroom to expand two-way trade, especially in mining, production and processing offood and seafood, An said.
Regarding trade policy, she suggested both nations consider building a freetrade agreement (FTA) to facilitate goods and service exchange and investmentcooperation.
Vietnam has signed more than 10 FTAs with partners and most of them areoperating effectively, contributing to national GDP, she stressed.
For his part, Chief Director of Bilateral Relations atthe Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa Victor Mashabela applauded Vietnam’s proposal for anFTA, saying it will be a turning point in trade ties and bilateral cooperation.
He said a delegation of Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa willvisit Vietnam in the final quarter of 2019 to the country’s products and to learnabout consumer trends in Vietnam.
Previously, a workshop to connect Vietnamese and SouthAfrican enterprises was held on June 24 on the sidelines of SAITEX 2019, withthe participation of representatives from 22 Vietnamese firms and more than 100local businesses.
Onthe occasion, another workshop on trade links will be held in Cape Town on June27.
The Vietnamese delegation will also work with local importers, retailers anddistributors to understand more about requirements on goods import anddistribution in supermarket chains in South Africa.-VNA
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