Argentine Ambassador to Việt Nam Marcos A. Bednarski writes a piece for Việt Nam News on the country's National Day (May 25)

Two hundred and fifteen years ago, on May 25, 1810, Argentina decided to form its first independent government, beginning the process that led to the declaration of our independence, on July 9, 1816. The 'May Revolution', as it is known in our country, was a pivotal event in Argentine history, opening the path toward the creation of new independent states in Latin America.

A few weeks ago, Việt Nam commemorated 50 years of the Liberation of the South and the National Reunification. Both our nations share the importance of freedom, the value of being a responsible and active member of the international community and the necessity to assure a fair socio-economic development in order to provide our people with a better quality of life.

Ambassador Marcos A. Bednarski (fifth from the left) attended the Meet-Up 2025 organised by the People’s Committee of Lào Cai Province and the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) from March 14-15, 2025. — Photo baolaocai.vn

This year, Argentina and Việt Nam will commemorate 52 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations, being one of the first Latin American countries to do so. We can only agree that the history of our relationship is a successful one.

A comprehensive partnership was established in 2010. Today Việt Nam is our third regional trade partner and the seventh globally, with a trade that has exceeded US$4 billion in 2024 and the forecast for 2025 is very promising, including an important increase of the Vietnamese exports. Argentina's high-quality products, such as beef, wine, seafood, and poultry, are becoming more popular in the Vietnamese market, but we also export high-tech industrial products, such as animal vaccines and biotechnological pharmaceuticals.

The Argentina-Việt Nam Intergovernmental Committee on Economy and Trade has allowed us to identify many areas where we have the capacity and the aim to cooperate: animal health, agro-industry, digital economy, space technology, renewal energy, to name only a few.

The negotiation of a trade agreement between Việt Nam and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) would generate positive economic outcomes as well.

It is important to highlight the positive impact of the bilateral Technical Cooperation Programme, which has counted 15 projects implemented to date through the Argentine Fund for International Cooperation (FO.AR), with the deployment of 130 Argentine and Vietnamese experts. Việt Nam is one of the countries with which Argentina has the largest number of technical assistance and know-how exchange projects, particularly in the agricultural sector.

There is an important exchange between our two countries that defines the will of our people, characterised by their capacity for resilience and struggle in the search for their own autonomy and freedom within history, the support in recent years of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team in the identification of the war heroes.

In another field, Argentina has the aim to contribute to strengthening exchanges in sports and culture, having two passions that we like to share with the Vietnamese people: tango and football.

Full of sensuality and nostalgia, tango is part of Buenos Aires' identity. By the 1930s, the dance had taken the city and the world, by storm with its romance. Today Buenos Aires remains the world capital of tango and is awash with professional stage shows, musical performances, tango schools and tango-themed cafes. It is particularly pleasing to see how Vietnamese society is engaged in this passion.

Ambassador Marcos A. Bednarski (middle) visited Việt Nam National University of Agriculture (VNUA) on March 21, 2025. — Photo courtesy of VNUA

The Argentine national football team is currently the reigning world champion, having won the most recent World Cup in 2022, in Qatar, earning their third star shown by the team's crest.

Although we are separated by a great geographical distance, we remain close to each other in many issues on the international agenda. Everything indicates that we have a promising future together that will allow us to continue strengthening our bilateral relationship. As a proof of our commitment to that objective, in a few weeks it is going to open a specialised Agro-industrial Attaché Office at our embassy in Hà Nội, which will add a new dynamism in our negotiations for market access. In addition, a trade mission will visit Việt Nam early July for this purpose.

The relationship between Argentina and Việt Nam has spanned several decades already and has progressively strengthened over the last years. Much of this historic relationship is anchored in trade, which has been strengthened through agreements, missions and visits that seek to deepen the economic rapprochement between our two nations. The fact that our economies are complementary is a strong indication that we will continue to develop our exchanges in the coming years. — VNS