The upcoming visit of President Maurico Macri to Vietnam is significant to Argentina due to the important role of the Southeast Asian country in the current overall international relations of Argentina, Argentine Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship Jorge Faurie has stated.


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Argentine Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship Jorge Faurie (R) at an interview with the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the upcoming visit of President Maurico Macri to Vietnam 


In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency on the threshold of the visit, the minister also stressed that Vietnam is an important partner of Argentina, especially in economy and trade.

The Vietnamese economy is supplementary to that of Argentina, he said, noting that the two countries have shared sound trade ties with high growth prospect, which reflects Vietnam’s progress, especially in the recent decade.

Vietnam has become an example for Argentina, especially in export policy, one of the factors encouraging Argentine businesses to engage actively in producing and exporting their products, he said.

Vietnam and Argentina recently celebrated the 45th anniversary of their bilateral diplomatic relations, bringing a suitable time for the important visit, said the minister. Meanwhile, in the recent meetings with President Maurico Macri at international forums, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc showed his hope to welcome the Argentine leader in Vietnam.

President Maurico Macri will pay a State visit to Vietnam from February 19-21, his first to the Southeast Asian country as a President. The leader once visited Vietnam as the Mayor of Buenos Aires. 

The Argentine official further said that several months ago, at a meeting with him during his visit to Vietnam, the host Prime Minister expressed his hope to develop partnership with Argentina, underscoring that the two sides should bolster economic and trade cooperation to bring two-way trade from the current nearly 3 billion USD to 5 billion USD in 2020 or 2021, and nearly 10 billion USD in 2025.

To this end, the two sides should create favourable conditions for businesses of both sides to foster connection.

Therefore, in his visit, the Argentine leader will bring local enterprises in many strong sectors of Argentina, so that they can meet Vietnamese peers to seek partnership.

“We have defined what areas that the two sides can team up, as well as products to focus on. But businesses and producers of the two sides should further foster their connection,” stated the diplomat.

With the current technology development, geographical distance is no longer an obstacle for Vietnam and Argentina to foster connectivity, he added.

Regarding his impression of Vietnam, Faurie said that he first visited Vietnam in 1996, and came back after 22 years. The changes of Hanoi as well as progress in production and the new mindset of locals surprised the official.

“I felt great changes of Hanoi and other big cities of Vietnam. The living conditions of Vietnamese people have significantly improved compared to two decades ago. The quality of products made by Vietnamese people has been different from the past, and especially, the future-oriented mindset of Vietnamese Government and people is admirable,” he said.

He stressed that Vietnam has shown the world its strong capacity to rise, which is really admirable.

State visit to strengthen Vietnam-Argentina ties: ambassador



Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina Dang Xuan Dung (R) gives an interview to Vietnam News Agency ahead of President of Argentina Mauricio Macri's State visit to Vietnam from February 19 to 21 



President of Argentina Mauricio Macri will pay a State visit to Vietnam from February 19 to 21, which will create a push for bilateral cooperation in the time ahead, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina Dang Xuan Dung.

In a recent interview granted to Vietnam News Agency, the diplomat said the visit, to be made at the invitation of President Nguyen Phu Trong, will be the first to Vietnam by Macri as President of Argentina. It will be a remarkable milestone in relations of the two countries, whose bilateral diplomatic ties turned 45 on October 25, 2018.

The visit is an illustration of the importance Vietnam holds in Argentina’s foreign policy towards Asia in general and Southeast Asia in particular, especially since the Latin American country inked a treaty of amity and cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) last August.

Meanwhile, the welcome of President Macri’s State visit will also show Vietnam’s high regard for Argentina’s role in Latin America, Dung said.

He added the documents to be signed during this visit will help perfect the legal framework facilitating the countries’ comprehensive partnership in a more substantive manner in the time ahead.

Giving an overview of bilateral ties, Ambassador Dung said the comprehensive partnership has sustained the upward trend in spite of certain impact of external factors and Argentina’s situation.

Aside from frequent mutual visits at all levels between their Parties, Governments and parliaments, important bilateral mechanisms such as the intergovernmental committee and the political consultation at the deputy foreign ministerial level have been maintained and improved.

The two sides have supported and cooperated with each other effectively at multilateral forums like the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation, the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation, and the South-South Cooperation within the UN’s framework.

Economic-trade ties are also a highlight in the countries’ connections, he noted, elaborating that bilateral trade was maintained at around 3 billion USD in 2018 – the highest of Argentina with a Southeast Asian nation. Meanwhile, Vietnam ranks second in Asia and fifth in the world among Argentina’s markets. Argentina, in turn, is the second biggest market of Vietnam in Latin America.

The two sides have been working actively together within the framework of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), of which Argentina is a member. Cooperation in other fields like agriculture, science-technology, education, health care, and cultural exchange has also recorded progress, Dung said.

The ambassador expressed his belief in a driving force to be created for bilateral relations during this visit, especially in economy and trade. He explained that commitments to be made by the countries’ leaders will outline directions for their ministries and sectors to finalise technical discussions about the opening of each market for each other’s fruits. The visit will also facilitate the consideration of a free trade agreement between Vietnam and Mercosur.

Additionally, a business forum during this trip with the participation of nearly 40 leading enterprises of Argentina and many Vietnamese firms will encourage bilateral trade and investment activities, Dung said.

After this trip, the two countries may begin discussing defence cooperation – a new area in their relations, and increase cultural and sport exchange.

He added that given these, he is confident in a bright future of cooperation between the two nations.


VNA