The event was attended by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and South African Vice President Paul Shipokosa Mashatile.

The Vietnam-South Africa Business Forum was held in
Johannesburg on November 21 as part of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh
Chinh’s trip to South Africa to attend G20 Summit and conduct bilateral engagements in South Africa, at the invitation
of  South African President Cyril
Ramaphosa.

Addressing the forum, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh  called on South African businesses to invest
in Vietnam in such sectors as innovation, green economy, and digital economy.

The Vietnamese Prime Minister was quoted by the Government
News as saying that the two sides should strengthen collaboration in areas of
energy and minerals, including renewable energy, infrastructure, construction,
and logistics, high-tech agriculture and food processing, digital economy,
telecommunications, and services, as well as education, training, and technology
transfer.

Remarkably, the Prime Minister called on Vietnamese
enterprises to invest in agricultural production in South Africa, especially
rice and other farm products while the Vietnam National Industry-Energy Group
and the Vietnam Electricity can invest in South Africa in the fields of energy,
oil and gas, and renewable energy.

Prime Minister Chinh urged the two countries to upgrade the
Intergovernmental Committee coordinated by the two countries’ Foreign
Ministers, while also promoting the signing of new agreements to facilitate
trade and investment cooperation, and establishing new working groups between
both sides’ enterprises.

Speaking at the event, South African Vice President Paul
Shipokosa Mashatile said that South Africa encourages Vietnamese enterprises to
seek investment opportunities in its special economic zones and calls on South
African businesses to invest in Vietnam’s industrial clusters and technology
zones.

South Africa supports cooperation between the two countries’
Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Vice President noted.

As this year’s G20 host, South Africa emphasized that
cooperation among emerging countries and the business community is the driving
force of this process, adding that the two Governments stand ready to support
their business communities and elevate bilateral trade and investment relations
for sustainable prosperity, he added.

South Africa is Vietnam’s largest trading partner and export
market in Africa. Bilateral trade in 2024 reached $1.72 billion, of which Vietnam’s
export value amounted to about $773 million.

VGP-Khanh Van