President of Argentina Mauricio Macri is visiting Vietnam from February 19 to 21 to work towards strategic partnership in which trade would be the central point, local media has reported. 
Vietnam's President Nguyen Phu Trong welcomes Argentina's President Mauricio Macri in Hanoi. Photo: Nhan Dan
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The visit is expected to create breakthroughs for the bilateral relationship as it focuses on investment and trade, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina Dao Xuan Dung.
In 2018, the two-way trade hit US$2.9 billion, the highest figure between Argentina and a country in Southeast Asia. The two sides target to raise the figure to US$5 billion in the near future.
Currently, Argentina is Vietnam’s second largest trade partner in Latin America, while Vietnam is Argentina’s second-biggest trade partner in Asia and fifth-largest globally.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc meets the Argentinian president Mauricio Macri. Photo: Chinhphu
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Meanwhile, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that Argentina is Vietnam’s leading partner in Latin America and room for further economic ties remains large.
During the visit, a number of Argentine businesses have signed contracts with Vietnamese partners, especially the military-run Viettel Group.
In addition, agriculture is also one of key sectors of the cooperation.
Chance for further economic ties through trade bloc
In talks with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the Argentine president suggested the negotiation of Mercado Común del Sur (MERCOSUR) or Southern Common Market, a South American trade bloc, was established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994 with full members of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The two sides pledged to set up a joint group to discuss this issue.
The trade bloc, which covers more than 264 million people, will open up a big market for Vietnam.
Heading towards strategic partnership
Vietnam and Argentina established diplomatic ties on October 25, 1973. Since then, both sides have held regular delegation exchanges and signed numerous agreements to boost multi-faceted co-operation in order to upgrade the partnership from comprehensive to strategic.
The operations of the joint-government committee and political consultation between the two ministries of foreign affairs have tightened the relations for the past few years.
Furthermore, Vietnam and Argentina have supported each other at multilateral forums such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC), and the South-South Cooperation within the UN framework.
