Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính (right) shakes hand with Deputy President of South Africa Paul Mashatile prior to their talks in Hà Nội on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính met with Deputy President of South Africa Paul Mashatile, who is paying an official visit to Việt Nam, in Hà Nội on Thursday.

PM Chinh affirmed that Việt Nam always attaches importance to the traditional cooperation and friendship with South Africa, which it considers one of its leading partners in Africa.

Hailing the significance of his guest’s visit from December 12 to 15, he noted that South Africa is currently the largest trading partner of Việt Nam in Africa, with bilateral trade averaging US$1.2 billion per year. It has invested $620,000 in Việt Nam, while Vietnamese investment in South Africa so far totals about $8.16 million.

The Government leader spoke highly of South Africa’s role at regional and international forums and asked it to serve as a bridge for cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the African Union as well as regional economic communities.

For its part, Việt Nam is ready to assist South Africa to develop relations with ASEAN in an effective and substantive manner in the coming time, he added.

Deputy President Mashatile informed his host about some issues both sides reached high consensus on during his talks with Vice President Võ Thị Ánh Xuân.

During the visit, officials of South African ministries and sectors also had working sessions with their Vietnamese counterparts to discuss concrete cooperation orientations, he said, noting that he also met some outstanding businesses of the two countries operating in electric vehicle, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, farm produce, construction material industries.

Both host and guest voiced their satisfaction at the strong progress in the countries’ relations. They agreed that basing on the results obtained during the last 30 years of diplomatic ties, Việt Nam and South Africa will continue seeking new directions, methods, and impetuses to further bolster bilateral ties in the next 30 years.

Talking about economic and trade links, PM Chính held that the two sides should continue perfecting legal corridors to create safety and trust to encourage their businesses to invest in the areas of shared interest. They also need to provide optimal conditions for their goods to enter each other’s markets, including negotiating and signing a cooperation deal on the mineral industry, which both countries have large potential for and is also important in the current period.

He also suggested cooperation be expanded in the fields of digital transformation, green growth, granting of scholarships for students, and granting of visas for the two countries’ citizens.

The two leaders also agreed to enhance the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and share experience in mobilising financial resources for the development of a renewable energy industry ecosystem and services, energy transmission and storage, efficient energy use, green energy transition, and greenhouse gas emission reduction in the transportation sector.

The Deputy President of South Africa expressed his delight at his successful visit, saying he hopes more mutual visits will be organised in the time ahead. — VNS