South African President's state visit to Vietnam: A significant milestone in bilateral relations
WVR - The State visit to Vietnam by South African President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa marks a particularly significant milestone in the bilateral relations, emphasized Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Hoang Sy Cuong in an interview with The World and Vietnam Report.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 6, 2025. (Source: VNA) |
At the invitation of President Luong Cuong, South African President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa will pay a State visit to Vietnam from October 23-24. Could you share the significance and focus of this visit for bilateral relations?
Vietnam and South Africa officially established diplomatic relations on December 22, 1993, but have long shared a traditional relationship, marked by the historic meeting between representatives of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the African National Congress (ANC) in 1955 at the Bandung Conference in Indonesia. Vietnam's victory in its struggle for national liberation, against colonialism and imperialism, and for national reunification served as a source of inspiration and strong spiritual encouragement, as well as a reference for the South African people's struggle to overthrow the Apartheid regime and build democracy in 1994.
Since establishing diplomatic relations, both countries have continuously strived to develop substantive bilateral relations, achieving positive results in various specific fields. Currently, they are leading partners in cooperation within Africa and Southeast Asia; South Africa is the only African country with which Vietnam has a Partnership for Cooperation and Development. Amidst the rapidly changing and complex international situation, with many uncertainties, Vietnam and South Africa share a close perspective on security, cooperation, and development issues, consistently and resolutely strengthening bilateral relations towards new heights.
High-level visits between the two countries have been maintained quite regularly, across Party, State, and people-to-people channels. President Cyril Ramaphosa himself visited Vietnam nine years ago at the invitation of then Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh. This State visit to Vietnam by President Ramaphosa is the first by a South African President in 18 years (since President Thabo Mbeki's visit in 2007), marking a particularly significant milestone in the relations between the two countries, reflecting the mutual respect and friendship they hold for each other. It realizes President Ramaphosa's desire and determination to visit Vietnam amidst his very busy schedule, especially ahead of the G20 Summit this year, which South Africa will host in just one month.
The visit is expected to be an important occasion for both sides to reaffirm their friendly and close cooperation across various fields and at numerous international forums; to share experiences in each country's development process. Notably, it provides an opportunity for the leaders of both countries to evaluate, discuss, and agree on directions to enhance and promote more comprehensive and robust bilateral relations, focusing on boosting economic, trade, and investment cooperation commensurate with their excellent political relations and more effectively exploiting their potential and strengths in the new conditions. This will help determine the direction to elevate the relationship between the two countries.
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| South African President Cyril Ramaphosa receives Ambassador Hoang Sy Cuong at the credential presentation ceremony on October 3, 2023. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa) |
Both Vietnam and South Africa are dynamic economies with significant potential to complement each other. What are the highlights and areas of cooperation that could become new growth drivers in the bilateral relationship?
Vietnam is a dynamic economy with high growth rates. South Africa is currently Africa's leading economy, with a solid foundation and significant development potential. Economic cooperation between the two countries has developed relatively well. South Africa has been Vietnam's top trading partner in Africa for many years, with bilateral trade increasing from $192 million in 2007 to nearly $1.8 billion in 2024.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral trade remained relatively stable, with complementary trade structures between the two economies. Vietnam primarily exports electronics, phones and components, textiles, footwear, and agricultural products (coffee, rice, cashew nuts, pepper), while importing a variety of minerals, with coal accounting for a large proportion, fruits (grapes, apples, pears), wood, minerals, and chemicals from South Africa. There is still potential for further growth in these trade exchanges.
Additionally, both sides have potential to boost cooperation in new, green energy, climate finance; e-commerce, banking and finance; science and technology, and innovation, as well as tourism. Notably, in terms of investment, both sides have yet to make significant investments in each other, leaving ample room for connection and promotion, especially given their positions as gateways to their respective regions in Southeast Asia and Southern Africa, with the free trade agreements of each region in which both countries participate.
What are your expectations for the specific outcomes of this visit and the new developments in Vietnam-South Africa relations in the near future, especially as South Africa assumes the role of G20 Chair in 2025?
This State visit by the South African President is expected to yield several important outcomes.
Firstly, it will significantly contribute to laying the foundation for promoting the bilateral relationship framework; turning political determination into practical cooperation, with a focus on economy, trade, and investment.
Secondly, it will promote more specific commitments between the ministries, sectors, and business communities of both sides; initially reviewing and accelerating negotiations, and soon signing documents and cooperation agreements in specific fields that have been discussed for a long time and new cooperation content.
In terms of international relations, this visit is an opportunity for both sides to share their vision and affirm common values; emphasizing multilateralism, respect for international law; promoting reform of international institutions towards fairness and positivity; addressing global issues, with more attention to poor and developing countries, and jointly addressing non-traditional security challenges.
Vietnam reaffirms its support for South Africa's role as Chair and its preparations for the success of the G20 Summit in 2025; while expressing gratitude to South Africa for inviting the Vietnamese Prime Minister to the Summit, committing to actively contribute to its success.
This visit by President Ramaphosa to Vietnam, as well as to other Southeast Asian countries and attending the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, also demonstrates South Africa's respect and desire to strongly promote comprehensive relations with the Southeast Asian region.
Thank you very much, Ambassador!
(Source: Embassy of Vietnam in South Africa)
