VCCI President Pham Tan Cong (R) at the working session with Argentine Ambassador Marcos Antonio Bednarski

This was affirmed by Mr. Pham Tan Cong, President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), during a recent meeting with newly accredited Argentine Ambassador Marcos Antonio Bednarski at the VCCI headquarters. At the meeting, VCCI President Pham Tan Cong affirmed the good traditional relationship between the two countries and congratulated Ambassador Marcos Antonio Bednarski on starting his new term as Ambassador to Vietnam, thereby hoping to promote the Vietnam-Argentina economic and trade relations to a new height with his enthusiastic support.

VCCI President Pham Tan Cong expressed hope that enhanced cooperation between the two countries would accelerate trade turnover, aiming to exceed the current threshold of US$3.5 billion. He emphasized that there remains substantial untapped potential for growth in their economic relationship.

Ambassador Marcos Antonio Bednarski affirmed that Argentina highly values Vietnam’s role and position both regionally and internationally. He emphasized that the traditional friendship and effective cooperation with Vietnam, whether bilaterally or multilaterally, is a key component of Argentina's overall foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific region.

In particular, the business community of both countries is an important pillar of their bilateral economic and trade relations. Ambassador Marcos Antonio Bednarski expressed his hope that the Argentine Embassy would have more opportunities to collaborate with VCCI to promote trade and enhance diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Argentina. He specifically proposed organizing a forum or meeting with the business communities of both nations in September, coinciding with the visit of high-ranking Argentine leaders to Vietnam.

VCCI President Pham Tan Cong said that, in recent years, VCCI and the Argentine Embassy have maintained a strong cooperative relationship, including organizing events during visits of high-ranking Argentine leaders to Vietnam. Additionally, both sides consistently share information about each other’s trade and investment promotion activities with their respective business communities.

VCCI President Pham Tan Cong affirmed that VCCI will cooperate closely with the Argentine Embassy to organize a forum/meeting with businesses of the two countries in September and pledged to support the Argentine business community to do business in Vietnam, as well as calling for further information exchange so that Vietnamese businesses can seek investment opportunities in Argentina.

“VCCI is keen to strengthen cooperation with both the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Services in the coming time,” affirmed Cong. “The Vietnam-Argentina Business Council, which was established by the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Services and VCCI, is chaired on the Vietnam side by Mr. Than Duc Viet, General Director of Garment 10 Corporation. Due to the impacts of COVID-19 and the economic downturn, the council has not been able to implement specific actions. Moving forward, it is important for the business communities of both countries to actively engage with one another. VCCI is prepared to host delegations from the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and to enhance information exchange between our two branches.”

In the 51 years of diplomatic relations (1973-2024), Vietnam and Argentina have continually strengthened their friendship and cooperation across many fields. Vietnam values its partnership with Argentina and is committed to enhancing their Comprehensive Partnership. Likewise, Argentina recognizes Vietnam's important regional and international role, with the bilateral and multilateral cooperation being important to Argentina's foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific region.

Vietnam is Argentina's 6th largest trading partner and 5th largest export market globally, while Argentina is Vietnam's 2nd largest trading partner in Latin America. Vietnam plays a key role in Argentina's South-South cooperation in Southeast Asia, with both countries maintaining regular visits.

Vietnam-Argentina trade has increased 15-fold from US$316 million in 2007 to US$4.8 billion in 2022. However, in 2023, trade turnover dropped to US$3.45 billion, with Vietnamese exports rising 14.6% to US$976 million, while imports fell 38.9% to US$2.47 billion. This decline reflects the impact of COVID-19 and high inflation in Argentina, which reached a record 211.4% in 2023.

Vietnam consistently runs a trade deficit with Argentina, exporting about US$1 billion in goods and importing around US$2.5 billion annually. Vietnam mainly exports phones, electronics, textiles, and machinery, while imports primarily consist of agricultural products such as corn, soybeans, and wheat, as well as textiles and wood products.

Vietnam and Argentina have signed several cooperation agreements, including those on economic trade, industrial and agricultural cooperation, investment promotion and protection, and a memorandum on investment promotion. Currently, negotiations are underway for agreements on telecommunications, information security, and double taxation avoidance.

As of December 2023, Argentina had five FDI projects in Vietnam, totaling US$160,000, ranking 124th out of 144 countries in terms of foreign direct investment.