Vietnam, Argentina Reap Benefits of Agricultural Diplomacy

During the 30th Export Day, organised on September 15 in Buenos Aires by the Chamber of Exporters of the Argentine Republic (CERA) under the theme "New Export Frontier: The Transformation Underway," Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina Ngo Minh Nguyet highlighted that Vietnam considers Argentina and Mercosur important partners in South America and sees broad potential to deepen trade and investment ties. The Argentina–Vietnam relationship is suggested to go beyond the mere exchange of goods to build joint value chains, promote investments, and facilitate access to new markets. Argentina is pursuing an ambitious economic integration programme with Southeast Asia, in which ASEAN plays a central role. The partnership will connect Sun Group’s tourism and hospitality ecosystem with Visa’s global network and technology capabilities to advance digital tourism, promote Vietnam as a destination in international markets, and develop new payment and customer experience solutions, with a focus on the APEC 2027 Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Phu Quoc. Under the theme “Enhancing international trade facilitation in practice: Digitalisation and the reduction of procedural trade barriers,” the seminar provided FTU lecturers and students with deeper insights into the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and practical issues arising during its implementation. Vietjet, together with its group companies Galaxy Holdings and Galaxy Telecom, has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Starlink, the satellite internet service engineered and operated by SpaceX, to provide passengers with free, high-speed Wi-Fi on its flights. The Vietnam-Laos Product Week in Hanoi will give a platform for Vietnamese and Lao businesses to exchange information on products, market demand and potential cooperation opportunities. Achieving the city's logistics ambitions will require not only more warehouses, ports and logistics centres, but also more efficient connections among existing facilities, lower costs and faster cargo flows from production to export. ADB has raised Vietnam’s growth forecast to 7.8% in 2026, from 7.2% in its July update, while raising its 2027 projection from 7.0% to 7.6%. At the event, General Secretary and President Lam highly valued the views and proposals put forward by leaders of US corporations in science and technology, advanced manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, finance and investment. He said the practical recommendations demonstrated the continued interest, confidence and expectations of the US business community in Vietnam. Tanzania's trade surplus with Vietnam increased from 140.9 million USD in 2022 to 314.2 million USD in 2025. Vietnam is currently a key market for Tanzanian agricultural products, particularly cashew nuts. The International Trade Centre (ITC) has also identified Vietnam as one of Tanzania’s most promising export markets. With the current trading band of +/- 5%, the ceiling rate applicable for commercial banks during the day is 26,917 VND/USD, and the floor rate 24,353 VND/USD. Vietnam is seen as a potential market, with considerable room for growth in real estate, particularly commercial property, compared with some regional markets. Strong Vietnam-Russia ties and opportunities to establish foreign-invested enterprises are also considered favourable for Russian investors. Petrovietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (PV GAS), a member of Vietnam National Industry - Energy Group (Petrovietnam), and ENEOS Xplora Inc. are exploring broader cooperation in the gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) value chain and energy projects. In the first two quarters, Hanoi welcomed 18.01 million visitors, up 15.7% year-on-year, while total tourism revenue rose 19.1% to 74.23 trillion VND (2.85 billion USD). The average hotel occupancy rate stood at 65.64%. For 2021-2030, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam proposed bringing forward the investment in a parallel taxiway system and a connecting taxiway north of Runway No. 2 at Phu Quoc International Airport, in order to connect with the aircraft maintenance and repair facility (hangar) planned for the northern area of ​​the airport. Alongside quality, safety, investment efficiency and the ability to meet the technical requirements of the North-South high-speed railway project, technology transfer is important, as Vietnam considers cooperation with foreign enterprises and partners in the high-speed railway sector. Along with the expansion of Sun PhuQuoc Airways’ wide-body fleet, Phu Quoc’s aviation gateway is also undergoing expansion by Sun Group. The group is investing approximately 500 billion VND to upgrade Terminal 1 (T1), increasing capacity to around 9 million passengers per year. The pitch was to bring global investors up to speed on Vietnam's macroeconomic outlook, its fiscal and monetary policy direction, and how it plans to manage public debt. The 31st Asia Securities Forum Annual General Meeting (ASF AGM 31) will feature a dedicated session on Vietnam under the theme “Investing in Vietnam – Rising in a New Era”. It is expected to bring together representatives of international financial institutions, regional securities associations, experts and leaders of domestic businesses. Petrolimex also signed a separate strategic cooperation agreement with the National Citizen Commercial Joint Stock Bank (NCB) covering finance and banking, while Petrolimex Aviation and Sun PhuQuoc Airways signed a Memorandum of Understanding to expand cooperation in aviation fuel. As of the end of June 2026, Vietnam had 43 fund management companies and 141 securities investment funds. Including entrusted investment portfolios, total assets under management by fund management companies reached approximately 846 trillion VND (over 32.5 billion USD). Such assessments, however, need to be viewed in the context of Vietnam’s starting point in 1986 and the broader trajectory of its development. A country emerging from prolonged wars, facing severe socio-economic difficulties and economic embargo has undergone profound changes over the past four decades. Copyright, VietnamPlus, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) Editor-in-chief, Mr. Tran Tien Duan.