During a recent reception for the Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa, Hoang Van Loi, the province’s leaders and the business community emphasised their readiness to welcome Vietnamese businesses to explore potential for cooperation and to develop relations between the two countries.
During his visit to the province from August 23 to 26, the diplomat gave the host a briefing on Vietnam’s socioeconomic successes in the first half of this year, highlighting the need to further and extensively develop relations between Vietnam and South Africa.
He also pledged that the Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa is working hard and organising activities to connect the two nations’ businesses and communities.
As part of a series of events organised by the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) Committee in Pretoria, Loi stated that a Vietnamese business delegation is scheduled to visit South Africa in the first half of September to investigate investment and export opportunities in the country in industries like textiles, footwear, seafood, food processing, construction materials, and furniture.
The premier of KwaZulu-Natal province made it clear during Loi’s working sessions that the South African government, in general, and the provincial government, in particular, attach special importance to the market of more than 650 million people in Southeast Asian nations, adding that relations with ASEAN countries should be cultivated.
In certain industries, such as the manufacturing of high-value wood products, agriculture, telecommunications, Halal cuisine, and higher education, among others, she continued, it is vital to expand bilateral trade and investment partnerships.
The mayor of Durban City has stated that he is open to working with corporations and communities around the ASEAN region and views this as a necessary condition for local economic growth and job creation.