Africa business safari

Vietnam already exports healthy amounts of rice to Africa

“A bright future is emerging for African countries and for traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Africa. Vietnam and Africa will promote and expand economic, trade and investment relations in areas such as energy, mining, agriculture, infrastructure construction, trade-investment, human resources development, health care and education,” said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

“However, we should select some flagship projects in each priority area for mutual benefits and for avoidance of scattered investment,” Dung said at last week’s second Vietnam-Africa international forum, following the first in 2003. 

Dung said Africa was a vast continent with huge potential and development opportunities.  “The time has come for Vietnam to promote and expand traditional friendship and multi-sided cooperation with African countries for mutual benefits, peace stability and development of Vietnam, Africa and the world as a whole,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem said that over past years, Vietnam’s relations with African countries had become an important part of the nation’s foreign policy. “Vietnam wishes to join African countries in taking stock of past cooperation, exchanging information, identifying opportunities and proposing specific measures to promote multi-faceted cooperation, especially in the areas of comparative advantages such as agriculture, energy, infrastructure, trade, education, human resource training, exchange of experts and labour,” Khiem said.

Cheick Sidi Diarra, United Nations’ Under-Secretary General, said Vietnam had been able to broaden its relationships and enhance multifaceted cooperation for development with African countries.

“The United Nations and its secretary general acknowledge the special relevance of south-south cooperation and the steady expansion of economic and other relations between Africa and Vietnam,” Diarra said.

Jean-Paul Adam, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Seychelles, said that: “We realise that any credible projective scenario has to reckon with other ascending Asian countries, in particular Vietnam.”

“It is clear that from the outset, Vietnam has had a strong vision for cooperation between Africa. In this favourable context, my country welcomes enhanced cooperation between Africa and Vietnam. Issues such as food security, agricultural cooperation, infrastructure, training and poverty reduction are without doubt top priorities for all of us,” Adam said.

At present, the legal framework for the multisided cooperation between Vietnam and Africa has been established with over 70 assorted agreements, providing the solid foundation for promoting cooperation in all sectors.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam has concluded 17 framework agreements on cooperation in economic, trade, technology and science, and 15 trade agreements, and established several joint committees with African countries.

Vietnam and Africa’s economic and trade relations have witnessed remarkable growth with the annual rate of 45 per cent in two-way export-import turnover, from $360 million in 2003 to $2.07 billion in 2009 and it is expected to sit at $3 billion in 2010.