Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyễn Minh Hằng. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese businesses and diplomats from many African countries gathered at the “Meet Africa 2025” event held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday.

The session was attended by ambassadors and representatives of many African countries’ resident and non-resident diplomatic missions in Việt Nam, including Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, Chad, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Somalia, Senegal, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It also saw officials from various Vietnamese ministries and agencies, along with executives of Vietnamese businesses already having or interested in economic partnerships with Africa.

In her opening remarks, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyễn Minh Hằng highlighted the close-knit bonds between people of Việt Nam and African countries, which shared the aspiration for national independence, inspired, and supported each other in the past struggles for national liberation, as well as the current development process.

As Việt Nam is entering a new development phase with a goal of becoming a developed and high-income nation by 2045 while African countries are emerging as one of the world’s new growth engines in the near future, she expressed her hope that the two sides will actively build on their good relations to fully tap into potential and promote practical cooperation in multiple areas, thus generating tangible benefits for people and businesses of both sides.

Further intensifying the traditional friendship with African countries is always a priority in Việt Nam’s foreign policy, Hằng noted, perceiving that the two sides boast much cooperation potential in such fields as infrastructure development, energy, green transition, digital transformation, and tourism, aside from the traditional areas of agriculture and food security.

Việt Nam always stands ready to share its renewal, economic development, and international integration experiences with African friends, she added.

The Deputy Minister held that to develop Việt Nam – Africa ties more strongly and substantively, it is necessary to promote the engagement of businesses, and that the Government will create favourable conditions for them to enhance fruitful cooperation.

Stressing the immense potential of Africa, promising opportunities, the good political ties, and the strong determination of both sides’ leaders, she called on ministries, sectors, localities, and businesses to play a more active role in fostering connections with this continent, pledging that the Foreign Ministry will support African countries’ missions and Vietnamese businesses to turn bilateral relations into a model for South – South Cooperation in the new era.

Addressing the event, African ambassadors said they admire Việt Nam’s socio-economic achievements after 40 years of Đổi mới (Renewal), expressing their hope to learn the countries’ experiences in development, integration, governance capacity improvement, and human resources training.

They also called on reputable and capable businesses to Việt Nam to consider investing in Africa, particularly in building key infrastructure facilities and connecting economic corridors to promote regional integration and connectivity in African countries, which are strongly implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Algerian Ambassador Azeddine Bechka said Algeria is ready for limitless cooperation with Việt Nam as its Prime Minister pledged during Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính’s official visit in November.

Angolan Ambassador Fernando Miguel noted the country views Việt Nam as an important Asian partner and acknowledges Việt Nam’s commitments to cooperation with Africa. He encouraged capable Vietnamese firms to participate in transport, infrastructure, and energy projects in his country.

Ethiopian Ambassador Dessie Dalkie Dukamo said Africa, including Ethiopia, has great demand and potential for cooperation in such fields as energy, infrastructure, and digital transformation. Meanwhile, Chad Ambassador Abakar Saleh Chahaimi introduced the country’s advantages in gold, petroleum, and farmland, adding that it is interested in energy transition, infrastructure development, and tourism cooperation.

At the event, representatives of large Vietnamese businesses shared their demand for cooperation in certain areas with African countries.

Following the session, African diplomats visited the Vinfast complex in Hải Phòng city to explore the cooperation possibility in green transport. — VNA/VNS