Argentina aims to upgrade bilateral relations with Vietnam to a strategic partnership, ultimately fostering stable macroeconomic fundamentals and rapid growth in both nations.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Argentina’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship Diana Elena Mondino. Photos: Nhat Bac

Argentina’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship Diana Elena Mondino shared this view during a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March 20.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Chinh reaffirmed Vietnam's high regard for the traditional friendship and comprehensive partnership with Argentina and expressed confidence that Minister Diana Elena Mondinos's visit to Vietnam will contribute to advancing the Vietnam-Argentina relationship in the future, focusing on areas of mutual potential and demand, including industry and agriculture, for the benefit of both nations, and peace, cooperation, and development in both regions and the world.

Chinh expressed satisfaction with the positive development of the traditional friendship and all-around cooperation between the two countries in recent times and urged both sides to continue close coordination to promote exchanges at all levels, particularly high-level exchanges between the two countries' leaders.

He also called for speedy negotiations leading to the signing of cooperation agreements to create favorable legal frameworks for business activities and investment, as well as to enhance trade connectivity and information exchange, facilitate access to each other's markets for goods with strengths, thereby further increasing the value of bilateral trade exchanges between the two countries, aiming for long-term cooperation between Vietnamese and Argentinean enterprises.

Chinh highlighted that bilateral trade between Vietnam and Argentina reached US$3.45 billion in 2023, contributing to Vietnam remaining Argentina's sixth-largest trading partner and fifth-largest exporter, while Argentina is Vietnam's third-largest trading partner in Latin America.

Overview of the meeting.

He suggested that, based on good economic and trade cooperation, the two countries continue their efforts to increase bilateral trade turnover and make substantial progress, particularly Argentina's support for and early promotion of the Vietnam-MERCOSUR free trade agreement negotiations, which will make a practical contribution to the economic development of each country and MERCOSUR countries, establish long-lasting, firm relationships and bring the bilateral Vietnam-Argentina relationship to new heights.

The Prime Minister also suggested that ministries, departments, and agencies of both countries continue to coordinate to promote cooperation in other areas where there is demand and strength on both sides, such as culture, sports, football training, tourism, education and training, security, defense, opening up new areas of cooperation in climate change adaptation, green development, digital transformation, circular economy, clean agriculture, cooperation in maritime and aviation transport, livestock and aquaculture production, plant protection products, and vaccines for livestock. Strengthen mutual consultation and support at multilateral forums and international organizations and promote cooperation between specific regional organizations such as ASEAN and MERCOSUR.

Minister Diana Elena Mondino expressed her sincere gratitude to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh for taking the time to receive the delegation and conveyed her admiration and congratulations for Vietnam's significant achievements in innovation across all sectors, as well as its macroeconomic management policies, inflation control, social welfare, and sustainable development.

She affirmed that the Argentine Government highly values Vietnam's increasingly prominent role and position in the region and internationally; at the same time, she suggested that both sides continue to focus on promoting cooperation in areas such as finance, taxation, and aviation cooperation, which are areas of interest and promotion by the Argentine government.

Diana Mondino hoped Vietnam would continue to pay attention to developing bilateral cooperation in agriculture and trade with Argentina to establish a Strategic Partnership in agriculture shortly, which will contribute significantly to the further establishment of stable and sustainable economic foundations in each country.

On this occasion, Mondino also extended an invitation from President of Argentina Javier Milei to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to make an official visit to Argentina shortly. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh accepted the invitation and requested that both countries' foreign ministries continue close coordination to arrange the visit at a mutually convenient time.