Ample room ahead for investment co-operation with Africa

The Vietnamese trade official made the statement during the eighth Africa Trade and Investment Forum held virtual from May 11 to May 12.

He emphasized that the forum is anticipated to help local businesses explore numerous investment and trade opportunities in Africa, especially amid African countries implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

For his part, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Vinh to Algeria affirmed that there are bright prospects ahead for expanding exports in the African market, particularly as consumers there have placed their considerable trust in the general quality of Vietnamese goods.

Local businesses have therefore been advised to gain greater insights into the regulations and laws of the African market which is not as developed as other European, American, and Asian markets in order to successfully penetrate the market moving forward.

On the sidelines of the forum, the Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnamese Trade Office in Algeria, concurrently Senegal, Mali, Niger, and Gambia introduced various Vietnamese products such as coffee, tea, rice, pepper, milk, rice paper, tapioca flour, electric cables, and handicrafts.

Last year witnessed trade turnover between Vietnam and 55 African countries reach over US$7 billion, while 20 African states have now invested in the Vietnamese market with a total investment capital of approximately US$2.3 billion.

Vietnam has so far invested US$3.5 billion in African countries, such as Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, Tanzania, and Mozambique, with a major focus on fields such as oil and gas, telecommunications, and processing industries.