Vietnamese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dang Xuan Dzung.

Vietnam and Saudi Arabia’s strategic efforts have propelled their bilateral relations to unprecedented heights, marked by a significant upswing in politics, trade, investment, tourism, and manpower sectors. The resource-rich Saudi Arabia and Southeast Asian country Vietnam have found mutual benefits in their growing ties in several sectors, further solidifying a relationship rooted in shared values and economic synergy.

These remarks were made by Dang Xuan Dzung, Vietnamese Ambassador, here on the occasion of Vietnam’s national day. In an interview granted on the occasion, Ambassador Dzung gave an overview of the Vietnamese-Saudi relations with particular reference to the economic growth of Vietnam, which has exceeded 6.5 percent per year, placing Viet Nam among the countries with the highest growth rates in the region and the world.

He pointed out that the size of Vietnam’s economy has increased more than 95 times, from $4.5 billion in 1986 to $430 billion in 2023, ranking 35th in the world. “The macroeconomic foundation is fundamentally stable, and the economy's major balances are maintained with control on inflation at around four percent per year, down from the galloping 3-digit rate in the early stage of the renewal period” said Dzung, while adding that the country's total export-import turnover reached $681 billion in 2023.

The Ambassador said that Vietnam has enjoyed a trade surplus for eight consecutive years and is among the world's top 20 countries in terms of trade volume. “From a country suffering from severe food shortages, Vietnam has become one of the world's leading rice exporters, with over 8.1 million tons of rice shipped abroad in 2023, helping ensure global food security,” he added.

Referring to foreign investment in Vietnam, Ambassador Dang Xuan Dzung said that Vietnam remains a bright spot in foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction, with over $39.4 billion in 2023 and $23.2 billion disbursed, placing it among the world's top 20 countries in terms of FDI. “From a country that underwent blockage and embargo for 30 years, Vietnam has now established diplomatic relations with 193 countries and set up strategic partnership and comprehensive partnership with 30 countries,” explained Dzung.

Referring to the progressively growing relations between Vietnam and Saudi Arabia, the Ambassador said: “After 25 years since the diplomatic relationship establishment in 1999, Saudi Arabia has become one of the most important partners of Vietnam in the Middle East region. In recent years, the Vietnamese-Saudi relations have undergone significant developments in diplomacy, trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges.”

The ceremony to celebrate the 94th National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (1930- 2024) and the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Saudi Arabia diplomatic relations (1999-2024) held in Hanoi on September 23. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

He said that the visit to the Kingdom by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to attend the First ASEAN – GCC Summit in October 2023, the visit to Vietnam by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in March 2022, and the first ministerial political consultation in Riyadh between the two foreign ministries in February 2023 have helped consolidate the relationship further. Furthermore, the visit to Vietnam by Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed bin Aqil Al-Khateeb in August 2023 and an agreement to boost cooperation in the field of tourism signed in October 2023 have opened up new opportunities for cultural collaboration between the two countries.

On the commercial front, the relations have grown over the years, with two-way trade exceeding $2.7 billion in 2023. “And during the eight months of this year, the figure is estimated at $1.94 billion, a slight increase of 6.2 percent against the same period in 2023,” said the envoy, adding that major Vietnamese exports to Saudi Arabia include agricultural products such as seafood, cashew nuts, rice, coffee, pepper, noodles, spices, confectionaries, textiles, footwear, machinery, furniture, car spare parts, phones and electronic devices.

In reply to a question about cooperation in the tourism sector, he said that Vietnam has announced a Tourism Marketing Strategy for 2030, aiming to position Vietnam as the “Leading Attractive Tourism Destination in Southeast Asia” and consolidate the country's tourism brand and competitiveness. The strategy reasonably determines GCC countries as a potential tourism market. “The quality of services, food supply, and halal products in our country is improving day by day, in line with habits, needs, and tastes of Muslim tourists, including those from the GCC countries,” observed the envoy.

To this end, the Ambassador mentioned the simple process of visa, saying that “starting August 15, 2023, Vietnam has implemented an electronic visa (e-visa) system for all nationalities, including Saudi and GCC citizens, for a stay period of up to 90 days, allowing both single and multiple entry". “I would also like to update you that in the first six months of 2024, Vietnam welcomed 8.832 million foreign tourists, up by 58.4 per cent year-on-year and 4.1 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, before the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” he noted.

Ambassador Dang Xuan Dung introduces Vietnamese agricultural products.

He further pointed out that Vietnam has planned to organize a slew of Vietnamese Days events in Saudi Arabia later this year within the framework of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom and Vietnam. The diplomat said that Saudi Arabia is a close partner of Vietnam and the Saudi government, through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) since 2011, has provided development loans worth $179 million for 13 projects since 2011. “During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kingdom also extended help by providing medical aid worth $500,000 to our country through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center”, he added.

In manpower sector, the two countries have forged closer ties, said the diplomat. Currently, there are more than 6,000 Vietnamese workers in Saudi Arabia in various fields such as construction, engineering, hospitality and domestic affairs. Moreover, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia are working to endorse a new labor cooperation agreement expected to be signed in the near future. This labor pact will further boost links between the Kingdom and Vietnam.

“Getting Saudi businesses and investors to work with Vietnam and the Saudi population to learn more about my country still remains the biggest challenge for me," said Ambassdor Dzung, "but it is my strong belief that our relations hold great potential for even more comprehensive developments that better serve mutual interests of the two Governments and people in the time to come."