General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong (R) welcomes the President of the Republic of Argentina Mauricio Macri, February 2019

Many achievements

Argentine Ambassador to Vietnam Luis Pablo Maria Beltramino expressed his happiness and pride to be the Argentine Ambassador to Vietnam, especially during the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. He stated, “50 years ago, Argentina was one of the first Latin American countries to establish diplomatic ties with Vietnam after the Paris Agreement was signed in 1973 and the bilateral relationship has been constantly nurtured in all three pillars: political dialogue, trade and technical cooperation.”

Specifically, over the past half a century, the Vietnam-Argentina relationship has advanced significantly and achieved many positive outcomes. The two countries have established several cooperation/consultation mechanisms and signed many agreements as a foundation for enhancing their comprehensive cooperation.

Bilateral trade has increased by 700% in the last decade. In 2022, Vietnam was Argentina's 6th largest trade partner, 5th largest export market in the world and key partner in Argentina's South-South cooperation in Southeast Asia while Argentina was Vietnam's third largest trade partner in Latin America.

Argentina’s main imports from Vietnam consist of textiles and garments, footwear, rubber, electronic components, mechanical tools, wooden furniture, auto parts and handicrafts, while its key exports to Vietnam are soybeans, wheat, livestock by-products, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, machinery, auto components, milk, timber, steel and wine.

The two economies are complementary. Argentina is ready to diversify its products to meet Vietnam's demands. Conversely, Vietnam has many high-quality products such as technology, apparel and footwear, which are well-liked in the South American country.

Furthermore, the two countries have attained effective technical cooperation in the past two decades, with 15 cooperation projects in various fields such as the agricultural industry - the strength of both Argentina and Vietnam. Argentina actively assists Vietnam in improving soybean and rice cultivation techniques and vaccinating against foot-and-mouth disease and livestock diseases.

Much room for development

The bilateral trade relations have progressed considerably but, according to the Argentine Ambassador, there is still ample room for both sides to enhance their cooperation in the future and the two countries aim to seize these opportunities. Both Vietnam and Argentina have specific strengths and advantages for collaboration in many different potential fields. They can strengthen their partnership in green energy development, advanced information technology application and technological capacity-building.

To optimize this advantage, it is essential to create an environment that fosters investment and trade ties between Vietnamese and Argentine companies, he said. Public-private cooperation will also play a vital role in boosting their sustainable and effective relations in the future.

Additionally, Vietnam and Argentina need to concentrate on promoting investment and knowledge sharing, gaining a better understanding of each other's markets and business conditions and improving brand and product promotion in the other’s market. A deep comprehension of each other’s market and business culture is important to build trust and enable cooperation.

Moreover, both countries need to enhance coordination and communication between government agencies, businesses and social organizations to ensure that cooperation projects and activities are implemented effectively and sustainably.