South African President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

HÀ NỘI — South African President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa and his entourage departed from Hà Nội on Friday evening, wrapping up their successful two-day state visit to Việt Nam at the invitation of President Lương Cường.

Seeing off President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa and his delegation at Nội Bài International Airport were Member of the Party Central Committee and Minister of Justice Nguyễn Hải Ninh; Deputy Head of the Office of the President Nguyễn Hoàng Anh; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Anh Tuấn; and Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Hoàng Sỹ Cường.

During the visit, the South African delegation laid wreaths in tribute to President Hồ Chí Minh at his mausoleum and at the Monument to Heroes and Martyrs in Hà Nội.

President Cường hosted the state-level welcome ceremony, a private meeting, official talks, and a joint press briefing with his South African counterpart. President Ramaphosa also paid courtesy calls on Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn.

Together with Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, he attended the Việt Nam–South Africa Business Forum, co-organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the South African Embassy in Việt Nam.

The South African President also attended a sitting of the 10th session of the 15th National Assembly, toured the National Assembly Museum, visited the family of General Võ Nguyên Giáp in Hà Nội, and met with leaders of several major Vietnamese corporations.

At the high-level meetings, both sides agreed that over the past 70 years, the spirit of solidarity between the two nations has remained intact. Việt Nam always attaches great importance to its traditional friendship with South Africa - a close friend and the first African country with which Việt Nam established a “Partnership for Cooperation and Development” framework in 2004.

Reviewing bilateral relations, the two sides noted significant achievements, with political trust continuously strengthened; and relations expanded across Party, State, and parliamentary channels. Economic cooperation has grown strongly, making South Africa one of Việt Nam’s leading trading partners in Africa. The two countries have also coordinated closely in multilateral forums and on regional and international issues.

President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa emphasised that Việt Nam is a close friend and important partner of South Africa in Asia. He stated that this visit affirms the determination of the South African State and Government to consolidate and advance the partnership with Việt Nam, in line with South Africa’s strategy to expand its markets amid profound transformations taking place domestically and globally.

Building on historical ties grounded in shared ideals of independence and freedom, and on the positive achievements in cooperation, the leaders agreed to work towards completing necessary procedures to elevate the Việt Nam–South Africa relationship to a Strategic Partnership this year, creating new momentum to deepen bilateral cooperation for the benefit of the people of both countries, as well as for peace and development in the region and the world.

The leaders agreed to further deepen political trust and closeness through increased exchanges of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones, across Party, State, parliamentary, ministerial, locality-to-locality, and business-to-business channels. They will also make existing cooperation mechanisms more effective and soon convene the next meetings of the Việt Nam–South Africa Inter-Governmental Partnership Forum, the Political Consultation between the two Foreign Ministries, the Joint Trade Committee, and the Defence Policy Dialogue.

They noted that the two countries have complementary strengths and great potential for further cooperation. They agreed to expand collaboration in areas such as green transition, digital transformation, creative economy, renewable energy, media, and climate change response.

Việt Nam proposed that South Africa support the early launch of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Việt Nam and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). The two parliaments were encouraged to continue strengthening coordination and mutual support, and to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of multilateral parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), and South–South parliamentary groupings to jointly safeguard the interests of developing nations.

President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa reaffirmed his commitment to enhancing bilateral cooperation, including between the two parliaments, in a manner commensurate with the excellent political ties and status of both countries. He underscored that once the relationship is elevated to a Strategic Partnership, the role of the two countries’ legislatures will be essential to ensuring the effective implementation of bilateral agreements.

On this occasion, the two sides issued a Joint Statement.

President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa’s state visit to Việt Nam, his first in nine years since his visit as Vice President, marks an important milestone in bilateral relations. It demonstrates the special attention and determination of both countries to elevate their partnership.

The visit not only consolidated traditional friendship but also opened opportunities for both sides to comprehensively review bilateral cooperation, identify directions to boost economic, trade, and investment ties, and explore new potential areas, aiming towards a more comprehensive and deeper partnership in the future. — VNA/VNS