Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to South Africa: Elevating Vietnam's multilateral position, paving the way for a historic bilateral milestone
WVR - On the occasion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to attend the G20 Summit and engage in bilateral activities in South Africa, Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Hoang Sy Cuong shared with The World and Vietnam Report the significance and focus of the visit.
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| For the first time, the G20 Summit is being held in South Africa, Africa. (Photo: News24) |
Could you please share the atmosphere of the G20 Summit at this time and the key focuses that host country South Africa is aiming for?
In just a few days, the 2025 G20 Summit, hosted by South Africa, will take place in Johannesburg. To date, approximately 130 meetings and conferences of various sizes have been held over the past year. The host country, South Africa, has been very proactive, making significant investments for this important event. This marks the first time the G20 Summit is being held on African soil.
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| Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Hoang Sy Cuong. (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa) |
Therefore, this Summit is expected to leave a mark for Africa, by Africa. With the theme “Unity, Fairness, and Sustainability”, host country South Africa aims to address global challenges such as poverty, inequality, and emerging issues that require international cooperation.
The event will focus on four main areas: enhancing resilience and disaster response; promoting sustainable debt management for low-income countries; mobilizing finance for a fair energy transition; and leveraging essential minerals for inclusive, sustainable growth.
Based on this overview, how do you assess the participation of Vietnam's top leader at the G20 Summit and the opportunities we have to contribute to the common goals of the Summit?
The G20 is a forum that brings together the world's leading developed and emerging economies, accounting for over 90% of global GDP. The forum was established to discuss and address significant international economic and financial issues, but its scope has since broadened.
This Summit is expected to discuss a wide range of global issues, including sustainable development, and is anticipated to have a unique African perspective.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during a State visit to Vietnam on October 23, 2025. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
The participation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will further affirm Vietnam's position as a positive voice from Southeast Asia, promoting the role of developing countries in global issues such as sustainable development and economic equity, thereby enhancing Vietnam's influence on international forums.
The topics and discussions at the Summit align well with Vietnam's realities and strategies on its development path, especially during this rapidly changing phase focused on sustainable development. Therefore, I believe the Prime Minister will make significant contributions to the Summit in various aspects.
Regarding Vietnam-South Africa relations, what are your views on the pace of high-level exchanges between the two countries, given that the visit occurs less than a month after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's visit to Vietnam? What significance does this hold for promoting cooperation between the two countries in the spirit emphasized by the South African President as “more structured, more future-oriented”?
Besides attending the G20 Summit, the Prime Minister's visit to South Africa, less than a month after President Cyril Ramaphosa's State visit to Vietnam, aims to promote the implementation of agreed-upon content and prepare for upgrading relations to a Strategic Partnership, creating new momentum for substantive, effective cooperation and deepening bilateral ties.
This is an important opportunity for both sides to reaffirm their excellent traditional relations and commitment to strengthening economic connectivity. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will focus on promoting key areas such as enhancing trade and investment, with the goal of increasing bilateral trade turnover, leveraging South Africa's position as a gateway to the African market, and boosting investment potential in each other's markets, which is currently modest; sharing experiences and exchanging cooperation in new areas such as the digital economy and digital transformation; and discussing global issues and challenges such as climate change and sustainable development challenges.
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| Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Hang visited South Africa and co-chairs the Intergovernmental Partnership Forum between the two countries in November 2024. (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa) |
In recent high-level exchanges, the leaders of both countries emphasized making Vietnam-South Africa relations a model of cooperation among Southern countries. To realize this goal, in the Ambassador's view, in which areas should the two countries take the lead?
Strengthening bilateral cooperation, including the areas mentioned above, not only brings bilateral benefits but also contributes to the G20's common agenda and promotes South-South cooperation.
The leaders of both countries have emphasized making Vietnam-South Africa relations a model of cooperation among Southern countries. To achieve this goal, to enhance economic connectivity and cooperation commensurate with the political trust and excellent diplomatic relations, I believe the key is to increase action, concretize, and closely follow programs and action plans.
On one hand, it is necessary to maintain and promote the momentum of relations, such as exchanging delegations at all levels and channels, sharing and learning from each other, and coordinating on multilateral forums. On the other hand, in terms of economic cooperation, it is essential to significantly increase mutual understanding, strengthen the presence of businesses from both sides, and enhance people-to-people exchanges and tourism promotion.
In terms of cooperation areas, besides maintaining sectors like minerals, consumer goods, electronics, and some agricultural products, attention should be paid to new fields such as the digital economy, financial and banking cooperation, high-tech agriculture, and green energy...
Vietnam has four investment projects in South Africa with a total capital of 8.86 million USD, ranking 45th among 84 countries and territories where Vietnam invests abroad. To further boost this investment flow, what advice or suggestions do you have for Vietnamese businesses interested in the South African market?
It can be said that investment between the two sides is very modest. The reason partly lies in geographical distance, but importantly, there is still limited information and understanding of each other's investment and business environment, as well as certain barriers due to differences in business culture...
Therefore, the first thing to do is to enhance exchanges and understanding of each other and show interest in each other. South Africa, like Africa in general, has certain difficulties, limitations, and challenges, but also a lot of potential and room for cooperation. It can be said that a change in perception is needed first, and everything else will follow.
Thank you, Ambassador!
