The 5th Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meeting to enhance Bilateral Economic Relations between South Africa and Vietnam is currently underway at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

The two-day JTC will wrap up on Thursday, 24 November 2022.

The JTC meeting, which is held annually on an alternate basis, is intended to enhance bilateral economic relations between the two countries.

This year’s session is chaired by the Trade, Industry and Competition Deputy Minister, Nomalungelo Gina, together with her counterpart from the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), Vice Minister Do Thang Hai.

According to Gina, points for discussion at this year’s JTC meeting cover trade promotion and facilitation, including market access for South Africa’s agricultural products to Vietnam; cooperation on investment promotion and facilitation in the automotive sector; cooperation on capacity building in the furniture sector, and cooperation on mineral resources.

“At the 4th JTC meeting, which took place in Vietnam in 2019, we had affirmed that South Africa considers Vietnam as an important partner in South-east Asia, and we had undertaken to continue working closely together in carrying out measures to strengthen friendship and economic, trade and investment relations.

“Unfortunately, our momentum to concretise these concessions was dealt a devastating blow by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that we have learned to coexist with the pandemic, we will ensure that these goals are achieved speedily,” Gina said.  

A discussion on measures to remove bottlenecks and create more optimal conditions for trade, investment and business partnerships will also take place, according to the Deputy Minister.

“We will look into solutions to boost our economies’ connectivity, expand markets for each other’s goods, and capitalise on their strengths and resources to help with each country’s development,” Gina said.