Argentine President’s Vietnam visit – chance to boost bilateral ties

Argentine President Mauricio Macri

The visit also demonstrates the importance of Vietnam in Argentina’s external policy towards Asia in general and Southeast Asia in particular, especially after the Latin American nation signed Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) in August 2018.

Vietnam and Argentina established their diplomatic ties on October 25, 1973. Since then, both sides have organised regular delegation exchanges. Last year, they successfully held a lot of activities to mark the 45th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.

Over the past years, the countries have established numerous mechanisms to boost multi-faceted cooperation. They have also signed various cooperation agreements, including those on investment encouragement and protection, economic-trade cooperation, scientific-technological cooperation, cultural-educational cooperation and collaboration in the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Vietnam and Argentina have also supported each other and coordinated effectively at multilateral forums such as the United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organisation, the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC), and the South-South Cooperation within the UN framework.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina Dang Xuan Dung said that despite complicated developments in the world’s and regions’ situations, the bilateral relations, especially in trade, continue to develop well.

Two-way trade increased from 1.4 billion USD in 2013 to 2.9 billion USD last year - the highest figure between Argentina and any Southeast Asian country. With this result, Argentina became Vietnam’s second largest trade partner in Latin America, while Vietnam is its fifth biggest import market globally. The two sides are working to raise the bilateral trade to 5 billion USD as soon as possible.

Currently, the Latin American nation is running four investment projects in Vietnam, ranking 106th among the 129 nations and territories pouring capital into the Southeast Asian country.

Collaboration in tourism, culture and education between Vietnam and Argentina is also developing rapidly, reflected through exchanges between their universities and art troupes. Each year, Vietnam welcomes around 10,000 Argentine tourists.