South African President: Vietnam is the Gateway to Southeast Asia, Achieving “Remarkable” Growth

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is on a state visit to Vietnam from October 23 to 24. On the afternoon of October 24, in Hanoi, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President Cyril Ramaphosa jointly attended the Vietnam-South Africa Business Forum.

President Ramaphosa stated that during this visit, he had discussions with Vietnamese leaders to promote cooperation across all sectors, including economics, trade, investment, and strengthening the relationship between the two nations, aiming to elevate their ties to new heights. Additionally, he took time to visit and engage with leading Vietnamese enterprises.

President Ramaphosa emphasized that the relationship between the two countries is not merely about economic transactions but also serves as a bridge of solidarity, trust, and long-term friendship, sharing common values.

Recognizing the significant potential for cooperation between the two nations, President Ramaphosa suggested that both sides should leverage and combine their respective advantages, given their strategic positions in their regions. According to the President, while South Africa is the most industrialized nation in Africa and a gateway to the African market, Vietnam is the gateway to Southeast Asia and has achieved impressive growth, projected to exceed 8% in 2025 despite global challenges.

President Ramaphosa highlighted Vietnam’s strengths in electric vehicle production, battery manufacturing, renewable energy, digital transformation, electronics, textiles, rice, coffee, and seafood. Meanwhile, South Africa boasts natural resources and advantages in fruits, wine, livestock, fisheries, mining, automobile production, and infrastructure.

Therefore, President Ramaphosa urged businesses from both countries to enhance cooperation, technology transfer, and jointly build supply chains, thereby increasing cross-regional trade and investment. He stressed the importance of collaboration not only in areas where each side has strengths, such as agricultural product processing and mining, but also in emerging fields like clean energy transition, education, training, science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation.

Notably, President Ramaphosa pointed out that both countries are beautiful, with distinct cultures, offering significant potential for tourism and cultural exchange.

President Ramaphosa emphasized that South Africa is committed to reducing trade barriers and perfecting the legal framework to protect investments for businesses. He called on Vietnamese enterprises to seize this opportunity, explore potential, and establish cooperative relationships with South African businesses through specific contracts, projects, and programs.

Vietnam Commits to Ensuring Legitimate Rights and Interests of Investors

At the Vietnam-South Africa Business Forum, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that the two economies have complementary strengths, with the approach of “The state creates an enabling environment, businesses take the lead, and public-private partnerships are essential” to promote bilateral relations.

The Prime Minister suggested that both countries should establish mechanisms and policies through agreements on trade, investment, visas, labor, and develop infrastructure and logistics systems, while implementing green and digital transformations in line with global trends.

The Prime Minister affirmed that the Vietnamese government is committed to ensuring that the foreign-invested economic sector remains a crucial component of the economy. The government guarantees the legitimate rights and interests of investors, as well as macroeconomic stability, development, and institutional frameworks to attract investment.

The head of the government proposed that both sides cooperate and support each other for rapid and sustainable development, working together to achieve mutual growth. The Prime Minister expressed hope that businesses would strengthen cooperation and connectivity, yielding specific and measurable results.

Many International Organizations Highly Evaluate Vietnam’s Growth Prospects

The Vietnam-South Africa Business Forum was attended by approximately 50 South African businesses and 120 Vietnamese businesses across various sectors. Delegates noted that Vietnam’s investment and business environment has continued to improve, receiving positive evaluations from the international community and investors.

Notably, many foreign investors have chosen Vietnam as a strategic production hub, connecting with global supply chains. Specifically, from 2021 to 2025, Vietnam attracted a total FDI of approximately $185 billion, ranking among the top 15 developing countries in FDI attraction.

Furthermore, many major international organizations have highly evaluated Vietnam’s leadership, management, credit rating upgrades, and growth prospects. In early October, FTSE Russell upgraded Vietnam’s stock market from frontier to secondary emerging status. The IMF ranked Vietnam among the top 10 countries with the highest growth globally, and Standard Chartered forecasted Vietnam to be among the 5 fastest-growing countries in Asia.

At the Forum, delegates proposed effectively implementing existing cooperation mechanisms, including the Vietnam-South Africa Intergovernmental Committee. They also supported Vietnam in initiating negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).

In 2024, South Africa was Vietnam’s second-largest trading partner in Africa, after Egypt, with bilateral trade reaching nearly $1.8 billion.

In the first 8 months of 2025, Vietnam’s exports to South Africa reached $566.9 million, a 5.0% increase compared to the same period last year. Major export items included telephones and components ($202.3 million), footwear ($79.4 million), and computers, electronic products, and components ($62.9 million).