HCMC — Vietnam and South Africa agreed on Thursday to upgrade their bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership in 2025, aiming to deepen political, economic, and multilateral cooperation.
The agreement was reached during a meeting in Hanoi City between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is on a state visit to Vietnam from October 23 to 24.
Both leaders said the upgrade would make the Vietnam–South Africa partnership a model for South–South cooperation.
Chinh highlighted the positive progress in bilateral relations, noting that South Africa remains Vietnam’s largest trading partner in Africa. He said the two countries enjoy strong political trust and share mutual support in international forums.
The Vietnamese prime minister emphasized the potential to expand cooperation in emerging areas such as green transition, digital transformation, creative economy, renewable energy, communications, and climate change response. He also urged South Africa to support Vietnam’s efforts to launch negotiations for a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).
He thanked President Ramaphosa for inviting Vietnam to the 2025 G20 Summit, affirming Vietnam’s readiness to actively contribute to discussions on shared priorities such as poverty reduction, food security, sustainable development, and reform of global governance systems.
President Ramaphosa expressed his pleasure at returning to Vietnam and praised the country’s socio-economic achievements over nearly four decades of reform. He said Vietnam’s development model provides valuable lessons for South Africa and other developing nations.
Both leaders agreed that trade, investment, and economic cooperation would remain the cornerstone of bilateral ties. They committed to facilitating market access for each other’s goods and accelerating negotiations for new cooperation agreements, including those on judicial assistance, double taxation avoidance, and visa exemption for ordinary passport holders.
Vietnam and South Africa also agreed to enhance coordination and mutual support in regional and international organizations. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to multilateralism, South–South cooperation, and efforts to promote peace, stability, and sustainable development globally.
