Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on the morning of 21/11. This meeting occurred during the prime minister's working visit to South Africa, which included attending the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit and conducting bilateral activities. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two leaders announced the elevation of Vietnam - South Africa relations to a strategic partnership.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President Ramaphosa agreed to task relevant agencies from both countries with developing an action plan. This plan will implement the new relationship framework and concretize the Joint Statement on establishing the Strategic Partnership. Their goal is to create breakthroughs and make Vietnam - South Africa relations a model for cooperation among Global South nations.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa witnessed the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding on agricultural cooperation between Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and South Africa's Ministry of Agriculture. *Photo: VNA*

Both sides committed to boosting economic, trade, and investment cooperation, considering this a core focus. They plan to promptly negotiate an agreement and establish a working group to promote market access for each other's goods and products, aiming to increase bilateral trade turnover to 4-5 billion USD within the next two to three years.

The prime minister urged South Africa to accelerate the official launch of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). This initiative aims to create the most favorable conditions for businesses from both countries to expand cooperation and investment across various sectors.

Both nations will promote defense and security cooperation, while also enhancing collaboration in emerging fields such as science and technology, innovation, and artificial intelligence. They will facilitate Vietnamese businesses' participation in 5G projects and digital transformation initiatives in South Africa, alongside boosting cooperation in tourism, education and training, labor, sports, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.

The two leaders agreed to continue negotiations and sign additional important cooperation documents to establish legal and institutional frameworks for bilateral relations. These include: a double taxation avoidance agreement, visa exemption for ordinary passport holders, and cooperation in crime prevention.

Discussing regional and international issues, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President Ramaphosa agreed that both countries would coordinate closely and support each other in multilateral forums. This includes cooperation within the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Group of 77 (G77), and contributing to the success of the G20.

President Ramaphosa highly appreciated and supported the prime minister's proposals. He committed to directing South African authorities to work closely with their Vietnamese counterparts to promptly implement the contents agreed upon by the high-level leaders of both sides.

Concluding the meeting, the two leaders adopted a Joint Statement elevating relations to a Strategic Partnership. They also witnessed the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding on agricultural cooperation between Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and South Africa's Ministry of Agriculture.

Nhu Tam