NA Vice President Nguyen Hong Dien holds talks with South African National Assembly Deputy Speaker Annelie Lotriet
WVR/VNA - On October 1, during the official visit to the Republic of South Africa, at the South African National Assembly Headquarters, Vice President of the National Assembly (NA) Nguyen Hong Dien held talks with South African National Assembly Deputy Speaker Annelie Lotriet.
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| Vice President of the National Assembly Nguyen Hong Dien holds talks with South African National Assembly Deputy Speaker Annelie Lotriet. (Photo: Bao Chi) |
In an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding, Vice President of the National Assembly Nguyen Hong Dien expressed his pleasure in leading the high-level delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly to Cape Town, the legislative capital of the Republic of South Africa, and conveyed the greetings and invitation to visit Vietnam from National Assembly President Tran Thanh Man to South African National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza.
Emphasising the tradition of solidarity and mutual support between the two nations since the struggle against colonialism and the Apartheid regime, NA VicePresident Nguyen Hong Dien affirmed that this visit aims to realize the cooperation contents after the two countries officially upgraded their relationship to a Strategic Partnership in November 2025.
On this occasion, Mr. Nguyen Hong Dien congratulated the South African National Assembly on successfully organizing the 69th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) in September 2026, thereby affirming the prestige and important role of the South African National Assembly in international parliamentary forums.
Welcoming Vice President Nguyen Hong Dien and the high-level delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly on their official visit to the Republic of South Africa, South African National Assembly Deputy Speaker Annelie Lotriet emphasised the significance of the visit. It not only opens new directions for cooperation on the parliamentary channel but also creates strong momentum for the two countries to expand comprehensive cooperation in various fields after officially upgrading their relationship to a Strategic Partnership.
Expressing deep impressions and good feelings for Vietnam, Dr. Annelie Lotriet suggested that both sides continue to closely coordinate to build effective cooperation strategies and directions in the coming time.
Informing the South African Deputy Speaker about domestic development, NA Vice President Nguyen Hong Dien stated that after 40 years of Doi Moi (Renewal), Vietnam has achieved significant historical achievements; the economy has surpassed the 515 billion USD mark and maintained high growth, reaching 8.18% in the first half of 2026.
Notably, Vietnam is entering a new development phase with a strong commitment to reforming institutional building towards development facilitation; considering institutional improvement and enhancing execution capacity as national competitive advantages; and taking science, technology, innovation, digital transformation, green transition, and circular economy development as the driving forces for national development in the coming years to realize the goal of becoming a modern industrialized, upper-middle-income developing country by 2030 and a high-income developed country by 2045.
In this process, the Vietnamese National Assembly has fundamentally shifted its legislative mindset from management to development facilitation, applying the “one law amends many laws” mechanism and enacting numerous laws to remove institutional bottlenecks and unlock resources for the country's socio-economic development.
Engaging in extensive discussions on future cooperation directions, the parliamentary leaders of both countries agreed to make parliamentary cooperation a crucial pillar in the overall bilateral relationship. Both sides agreed on key cooperation focuses, including enhancing high-level delegation exchanges and specialized committees, promoting the early signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the two National Assemblies, and maintaining close coordination at international multilateral parliamentary forums.
Vietnam proposed that the South African National Assembly encourage the government to facilitate market access for Vietnamese goods to better penetrate the South African market and create favourable conditions for major Vietnamese corporations to invest and cooperate in potential fields such as electronics, telecommunications, minerals, renewable energy, textiles, supporting industries, and emerging industries like artificial intelligence and innovation. Both sides agreed to support businesses from both countries in accessing markets in the two regions.
On this occasion, NA Vice President Nguyen Hong Dien also requested that South Africa continue to support and facilitate the Vietnamese community in South Africa to live and work stably, serving as a bridge of friendship between the two nations.
Concluding the talks, NA Vice President Nguyen Hong Dien extended a cordial invitation to South African National Assembly Deputy Speaker Annelie Lotriet to visit Vietnam soon. The Deputy Speaker gladly accepted the invitation.
*Later that afternoon, as assigned by NA Vice President Nguyen Hong Dien, Mr. Vu Hai Ha, Standing Deputy Chairman of the National Defense, Security, and Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, held a meeting with Mr. Isaac Sileku, Minister of Transport of Western Cape Province, responsible for relations with Asian countries.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Isaac Sileku warmly welcomed the delegation and highly appreciated Vietnam's impressive socio-economic development achievements and the excellent Strategic Partnership between the two countries. The Western Cape Transport Minister expressed interest in Vietnam's development model and expressed a desire to diversify partnerships and expand local cooperation with Vietnam in trade, investment, renewable energy, and especially tourism. The Minister also suggested that Vietnam continue to serve as a bridge for South Africa's cooperation with ASEAN countries, particularly in the energy sector.
On the Vietnamese side, in addition to information about the outstanding achievements after 40 years of Doi Moi, Mr. Vu Hai Ha emphasised that local-level cooperation is one of the important pillars to expand Vietnam's economic development space in the coming time.
On this basis, Mr. Vu Hai Ha agreed with Minister Isaac Sileku's proposal, suggesting that Cape Town enhance local and business delegation exchanges, promote further agricultural cooperation, open direct flights from Cape Town to Vietnam, and establish direct partnerships with similar localities in Vietnam.
