Buenos Aires (VNA) - President of the Argentine Chamber of Commerce for Asia and the Pacific (ACCAP) Rallys Pliauzer has highlighted the continuous development of relations between Argentina and Vietnam in all areas, particularly in trade, affirming that the potential for cooperation between the two countries still remains great.

Pliauzer made the affirmation at a seminar on the potential for developing investment and trade markets in Vietnam, which was hosted by his agency on August 14.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Mario Schuff, Senior Advisor of the ACCAP, praised economic achievements that Vietnam has made over the recent years, as well as efforts of businesses from both countries to promote trade ties, with two-way trade exceeding 3.5 billion USD last year. He said that Argentine businesses are very interested in Vietnam's trade and investment market.

In her remarks, Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina Ngo Minh Nguyet updated participants on Vietnam's socio-economic achievements in recent decades, especially in 2023 as Vietnam’s economy ranked 34th worldwide with a GDP growth of 5.05%.

In the first half of this year, Vietnam’s GDP expanded by an estimated 42% after achieving 5.66% in the first quarter, she said.

According to the diplomat, Vietnam remains a preferred destination for foreign investors. In the first half of this year, about 15.2 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) was poured into Vietnam, up 13.1% compared to the same period last year. The FDI disbursement totaled 10.84 billion USD, up 8.2%, the highest year-on-year growth in six years.

This result shows that investors trust in opportunities in Vietnam and the country’s growth prospects which are driven by the global supply chain shift, Nguyet stated.

Vietnam is willing to open its doors to foreign businesses, she affirmed, adding that the Vietnamese Government will continue to make efforts in perfecting the institutional framework and addressing difficulties and obstacles to promote economic growth.

Delegates also discussed with representatives from the Vietnam Trade Office in Argentina the potential for expanding trade and investment exchanges between the two countries in the future.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in 2023, Vietnam ranked 3rd in Southeast Asia and 25th in the world with its GDP at purchasing power parity (GDP PPP) of nearly 1.44 trillion USD. The Southeast Asian nation's GDP PPP is projected to top 1.83 trillion USD, surpassing Thailand and ranking 2nd in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia.

The country’s total import-export turnover hit over 368.5 billion USD in the firsꦡt six months of 2024, up 15.7% year-on-year, with exports exceeding 190 billion USD, up 14.5%, thanks to the recovery in global demand, particularly from Vietnam's major partners such as the US, the EU, and ASEAN. It enjoyed a trade surplus of 11.63 billion USD, contributing to stabilising the fore❀ign currency exchange rate and increasing the foreign currency reserves./.