President Ramaphosa expressed his pleasure at meeting Prime Minister Chinh again, recalling his deep impressions of Vietnam, a beautiful and fast-developing country. He also thanked Vietnam for the warm and respectful welcome extended to him and the South African delegation during their state visit to Vietnam in October 2025.

South Africa always considers Vietnam a close traditional friend and a key partner of South Africa in Asia, he told his guest.

For his part, Prime Minister Chinh, who is in Johannesburg for the G20 Summit, congratulated South Africa on its remarkable development and growing international standing, and conveyed greetings from senior Vietnamese leaders to President Ramaphosa and other South African leaders.

He said he believes that, with South Africa’s role, stature, and experience, the G20 Summit will be a success, promoting the participation of countries, including developing countries, in global governance for peace, cooperation, stability, and development.

The two leaders agreed to task their respective agencies to quickly develop an action plan to implement the new framework, aiming to concretise the contents of the Joint Statement on the establishment of the Strategic Partnership. Key areas of cooperation will include economics, trade, investment, defence, security, science and technology, and digital transformation.

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening economic, trade, and investment cooperation, considering these areas as key priorities in their bilateral relations. They consented to promptly negotiate an agreement and establish a working group to promote market access for each other’s goods and products, aiming to double bilateral trade volume within the next 2–3 years.

PM Chinh suggested upgrading the Intergovernmental Committee mechanism from the Deputy Minister level to the Foreign Minister level, and urged South Africa to push forward negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) to facilitate cooperation and investment between businesses in both countries.

He also proposed enhanced cooperation in emerging fields such as green economy, electric vehicle production, telecommunications, agriculture, renewable energy, AI, and participation in 5G and digital transformation projects in South Africa.

In addition to economic and trade relations, Prime Minister Chinh and President Ramaphosa emphasised the importance of cooperation in areas such as education, tourism, sports, culture, and people-to-people exchanges. Both leaders agreed to continue negotiations and soon sign additional important agreements to establish a legal and institutional framework for bilateral relations, including agreements on double taxation avoidance, visa exemptions for ordinary passport holders, and cooperation on crime prevention.

President Ramaphosa appreciated PM Chinh’s proposals, particularly emphasising his support for Vietnam's practical, efficient, and urgent approach. He was pleased that just a short time after his state visit to Vietnam, both sides have actively negotiated and agreed on the Joint Statement to upgrade bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership, as well as an agricultural cooperation document, a topic both sides have been discussing for many years. The President committed to directing South African agencies to work closely with their Vietnamese counterparts to swiftly implement the contents agreed upon by both high-level leaders.

Regarding regional and international issues of mutual concern, both leaders agreed to coordinate closely and support each other at multilateral forums, particularly within the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Group of 77 (G77), and other global initiatives, including contributing to the success of the G20 Summit.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the two leaders approved the Joint Statement on upgrading bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership and witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on agricultural cooperation between Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and South Africa’s Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries.

PM seeks economic and trade cooperation opportunities with South Africa

VOV.VN - Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with senior leaders of several leading South African businesses in Johannesburg on November 21, to explore enhanced trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.