In the context of her first tour of Asia, aimed at opening markets and attracting investments, Foreign Minister Diana Mondino arrived today in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, after visiting Malaysia. The agenda in Vietnam includes meetings with high-ranking political and economic authorities and businesspeople.
On her first day, Foreign Minister Mondino was welcomed by her counterpart, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, and they addressed the broad bilateral agenda on political, economic and trade matters.
On the trade front, they both highlighted the existing opportunities for increased and diversified trade exchange. As a country that exports high-quality food consumed by millions of people all over the world, Argentina aspires to expand its role as a reliable supplier in Asian countries and to contribute to meeting the needs arising from increased demand.
In 2023, Vietnam was the 7th top global destination for Argentine exports and the main buyer of soybean flour (USD 1.048 billion) and corn flour (USD 865 million) from Argentina. In effect, in 2023, Argentina’s trade surplus with Vietnam amounted to USD 702 million.
As concerns investment promotion, Foreign Minister Mondino expressed Argentina’s willingness to work together with Vietnamese authorities in order to identify areas of interest for new investments and joint ventures in each country. In this regard, she pointed out that the negotiation of a new and modern Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) is already underway to replace the existing one, so as to enhance economic cooperation. She also submitted Argentina’s counterproposal for the text of the Air Services Agreement in order to make progress on air connectivity between both countries, which will boost tourism and mutual trade flows.
The Foreign Ministers also addressed the negotiations between MERCOSUR and Vietnam, as well as the need to keep an active bilateral dialogue mechanism.
In terms of technical cooperation between both countries, the Foreign Ministers discussed the excellent performance of agricultural projects and the potential for satellite cooperation, particularly in the use of images for rice farming and maritime surveillance, applications that are already being used in Argentina. In this regard, Mondino affirmed that Argentina is willing to engage in cooperation activities between the Argentine National Commission of Space Activities (CONAE) and its Vietnamese counterpart VAST in the coming weeks, with a view to making progress on concrete initiatives.
Argentina expects to strengthen the bilateral relationship between both countries in order to develop a Strategic Partnership in the Agro-Industrial Sector.
Finally, Mondino chaired an event at the Argentine Embassy to promote trade in Argentine beef, assisted by the Argentine representative of the company Azul Natural Beef S.A., who joined the Argentine Foreign Minister’s tour of Asia on behalf of the private sector. Invitations were issued to the main Vietnamese importers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers, as well as representatives from hotels and restaurants, and government authorities.
As she carried out the activities on the agenda, Mondino was joined by the Secretary for International Economic Relations, Marcelo Cima, and the Argentine Ambassador to Vietnam, Pablo Beltramino.
