The meeting took place as part of President Luong Cuong’s state visit to Egypt from August 3 to 6.

At the meeting, Thang expressed appreciation for the close cooperation extended by the Egyptian ministry to its Vietnamese counterpart in recent years. She also highlighted the marked progress in bilateral ties and reaffirmed Viet Nam’s high regard for Egypt’s important role in North Africa and across the African continent. Egypt is currently Viet Nam’s largest trade partner in North Africa, with bilateral trade reaching over 472 million USD in 2024.

The official noted that the trade structure between the two countries is complementary rather than competitive, offering substantial potential to expand cooperation, especially in the fields of industry, agriculture, investment, and logistics.

She emphasised the need for both ministries to work more closely to advance economic and trade relations in line with the overall partnership between the two nations.

Both sides agreed to step up coordination in organising trade and investment promotion activities to expand scale and move toward a more balanced bilateral trade relationship. On this occasion, the Egyptian side announced the plan to send a business delegation to Viet Nam in 2025 and proposed joint efforts to organise promotion events.

Egyptian Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan El Khatib praised the long-standing friendship between the two countries, and commended Viet Nam’s strong economic growth in recent years.

He highlighted Egypt’s geographic advantages and its wide network of economic agreements with the European Union and African nations, as well as the country’s potential in logistics, renewable energy, oil and gas, and industries such as textiles, fertilisers, and chemicals.

During the meeting, both sides agreed to establish a joint working group to study the feasibility of a Viet Nam–Egypt Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The group will assess the potential benefits such an agreement could bring to both countries, helping promote balanced growth in trade and investment.

Additionally, the two sides consented to coordinate in organising the 3rd session of the Viet Nam–Egypt subcommittee on trade and industry cooperation in Viet Nam, tentatively scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2025. The session will focus on detailed cooperation in trade and industrial development.

According to statistics, trade between Viet Nam and Egypt reached 472.6 million USD in 2024, up 9.4% from the previous year. In the first half of 2025 alone, trade totaled 266.9 million USD, an increase of 8% year-on-year, all of which was made up of Viet Nam’s exports to Egypt.

Viet Nam’s key exports to Egypt include coffee, mobile phones and components, vehicles and parts, electronics, seafood, pepper, machinery and equipment, fruits and vegetables, cashew nuts, textile fibers, garments, and base metals.