Econ
Fostering Vietnam-Argentina economic links
A forum has been recently held in Buenos Aires to give Argentinean businesses an insight into Vietnam’s economy and the two countries’ economic, trade and investment cooperation potential, which is said to remain untapped.
The event was attended by Gustavo Perego – Undersecretary of State at Argentina’s Ministry of Economy and Production, Carlos Restaino – President of the country’s Commission for Integration and Southern Common Market (Mercosur), and representatives of more than 50 Argentinean enterprises.
Opening the forum, Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina Nguyen Dinh Thao briefed participants on Vietnam’s economic development and incentives for foreign investors. He highlighted the expansion of bilateral cooperation in politics – diplomacy, economy, trade, investment, agriculture, health care, science and technology.
Two-way trade has increased significantly over the past few years, reaching 3.03 billion USD in 2016 and expected to hit 3.5 billion USD this year. Along with Mexico and Brazil, Argentina is one of the three Latin American countries posing trade of over 1 billion USD with Vietnam. However, those results have not yet matched potential, he noted.
In the time ahead, the countries will continue discussing the feasibility of negotiations for the signing of a trade agreement between Vietnam and Mercosur, which gathers Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela. They will also step up collaboration in culture, agriculture, bio-technology, forensic medicine, telecommunications, energy, and pharmaceuticals, he added.
Carlos Restaino analysed the enormous potential for economic, trade and investment partnerships between the countries’ businesses amid growing political relations. He stressed that Vietnam is a prioritised market in his country’s export diversification and expansion strategy. It is also one of the most important trade partners and the third biggest importer of Argentina in Asia.
Argentina’s main exports to Vietnam include soybean oil, corn, wheat, animal feed and pharmaceutical. Meanwhile, it imports footwear, apparel, rubber, electronic components, and plastic products from the Southeast Asian nation.
