Vietnam-South Africa strategic partnership boosts business links

Vietnam-South Africa strategic partnership boosts business links

The upgrade of Vietnam-South Africa relations to a strategic partnership is opening up new opportunities for businesses, with the country seen as a gateway for Vietnam to access the African market of 1.5 billion people.

Bui Trung Nghia, vice chairman of VCCI

On February 5, in Hanoi, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), in coordination with South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, held the Vietnam-South Africa Business Networking Meeting, with the participation of representatives from diplomatic missions, trade promotion organisations and business communities from both countries.

The event took place against the backdrop of Vietnam and South Africa upgrading their bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership in 2025, providing a favourable political and legal foundation to promote cooperation in trade, investment and broader economic relations.

In his opening remarks, Bui Trung Nghia, vice chairman of VCCI, welcomed the South African business delegation led by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition on its visit to Vietnam in the early months of 2026.

“Africa and the Middle East have been identified as markets with significant potential, alongside traditional markets such as the US and China,” Nghia said.

“Vietnam is focusing on diversifying export markets and strengthening enterprise capacity to participate more deeply in global supply chains. In this context, Africa is a highly promising market that is attracting growing interest from the Vietnamese business community,” he added.

Vietnam and South Africa share a long-standing friendly relationship, underpinned by an increasingly comprehensive legal framework. The elevation of bilateral relations to a strategic partnership last year is seen as a major step forward, creating fresh momentum for cooperation across a wide range of sectors.

South Africa is currently Vietnam’s largest trading partner in Africa. In 2025, total bilateral trade reached around $1.3 billion, down approximately 24 per cent on-year due to global economic headwinds. Vietnam’s main exports to South Africa include mobile phones and components, textiles and garments, footwear, rice, coffee and seafood, while imports from South Africa comprise coal and solid fuels, fruit, wine, beef and minerals.

Both sides are working towards a more balanced bilateral trade turnover of $4-5 billion within the next two to three years by expanding product categories, strengthening business linkages and better leveraging the complementary nature of the two economies. Vietnam is also encouraging members of the Southern African Customs Union to consider negotiations on a trade deal.

“These figures demonstrate that cooperation potential between the two countries remains substantial, particularly given the complementarity between the two economies. VCCI expects that businesses from both countries will make better use of cooperation opportunities in the time ahead,” Nghia said.

Building on the MoU signed between VCCI and the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2024, the two sides have committed to enhancing information exchange, partner matching and the organisation of trade promotion activities, exhibitions, business forums and market survey missions.

Sectors identified as having strong potential for cooperation include energy and mining, agriculture and food processing, industry and logistics, as well as technology and innovation.

With a network of more than 200 industry associations and nearly 200,000 member enterprises, VCCI stated its readiness to act as a bridge, working closely with South African authorities to further boost practical and effective economic and trade cooperation between the business communities of the two countries.

Vietnam continues to consolidate its position as one of Asia-Pacific’s fastest-growing economies, supported by a domestic market of over 100 million people, a competitive labour force, and steadily improving infrastructure. In 2025, an estimated GDP growth of 8.02 per cent was recorded, with the size of the economy reaching around $514 billion and per-person income at $5,026. Realised foreign direct investment amounted to approximately $27.62 billion, up 9 per cent on-year, reflecting continued confidence among international investors.

Import-export turnover reached $930 billion in 2025, an increase of 18.2 per cent on-year. Exports stood at $475 billion, while imports reached $455 billion. To date, Vietnam has signed 17 free trade agreements with major partners worldwide and is actively diversifying export markets while enhancing enterprise capacity to integrate more deeply into global supply chains.

VIR