Vietnam – Land of Heritage
TDS
18 September 2023
Vietnam and South Africa celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations in September, the month in which South Africans celebrate their heritage. Vietnam also celebrates the 78th Anniversary of 2nd September 1945 when President Ho Chi Minh declared independence from France. To mark this milestone Vietnam dispatched their Vice President H.E Madam Vo Thi Anh Xuan on an official visit to meet with South African Vice-President Paul Mashatile to further strengthen ties of friendship and solidarity and deepen social and economic exchanges between the two nations.
The Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa and the newly posted Ambassador to South Africa Mr Hoang Sy Cuong hosted a series of events themed ‘Vietnam Days in South Africa 2023’ to commemorate the special occasion. “Since the establishment of diplomatic relations the two countries have constantly made efforts to develop bilateral relations substantively, achieving good results in many specific fields”, said the Ambassador in an interview with The World and Vietnam which published a special edition ‘Promoting Cooperation and Development – 30 years of traditional friendship between Vietnam and South Africa.
Foreign Minister of Vietnam Bui Thanh Son said, “With its extraordinary development over the past three decades South Africa has become one of the leading economies in Africa and an important member of BRICS. As your global status and prestige reach new heights, I am delighted that the Vietnam – South Africa relations are going from strength to strength.” A flurry of exchanges have seen the countries collaborate and support each other on multilateral forums like the UN, NAM, G77 and the reciprocal support in the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and AU relations.
Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa Naledi Pandor said “I believe there is much we can do to further strengthen our diplomatic relations, we need to increase and diversify our bilateral trade by facilitating market access through speeding up essential but protracted processes, and increase the frequency of high-level exchanges and discussions."
In his remarks at the celebration Ambassador Hoang Sy Cuong said, “Upon the launch of Renewal (or Doi Moi in the Vietnamese language) under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, with the goals of ‘a wealthy people and a strong, democratic, equitable and advanced country,’ the people of Vietnam once again entered a hard struggle to eradicate poverty and backwardness, and recorded historic accomplishments. As a nation almost unknown in the world by 1945, Vietnam has now become a country with diplomatic ties with 192 countries. With a polulation of nearly 100 million people, with a GDP reaching nearly 410 billion US dollars, it has emerged as a dynamic economy in the Asia – Pacific, and member of many regional and international economic and trade groupings. Vietnam is indeed a country of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development, and a beautiful, friendly, and hospitable nation.”
Speaking about the historic and close relations with South Africa Cuong went on to say, “This year, the celebration of our National Day here in the Rainbow Nation is very special and bears a great meaning, for it coincides with the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of South Africa. The fraternal relations between the peoples of our two countries stretch back even much further, from the meeting between the representatives of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the African National Congress (ANC) in 1955 on the occasion of the Bangdung Conference in Indonesia, and the milestone visit to Vietnam by ANC’s late President Oliver Reginald Tambo in 1978.”
Cuong congratulated South Africa for successfully hosting the historic 15th BRICS Summit and thanked South Africa for inviting Vietnam to attend the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue. In July 2023 South Africa was granted the status of Sectoral Dialogue Partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a further step in strengthening the cooperation between South Africa and ASEAN, said Cuong.
South Africa’s Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan spoke about the warm, historical relations between the two countries and looked forward to strengthening these ties.
The Roundtable on Vietnam-South Africa Economic Cooperation reinvigorated trade and commercial relations as Deputy Ministers Phan Thi Thang of Vietnam (MOIT) and Nomalungelo Gina (DTIC) opened the discussions. Exploring the opportunities in trade, industry and energy, representatives from the MOIT department for Asia and Africa Mr. Nguyen Phuc Nam, Mr. Le Viet Dung, Ministry of Health, Mr. Cao Quang Quynh, board member of Vietnam Electricity-EVN, and Ms Nguyen Thi Ngoc, Deputy Director of Gonsa Joint Stock Company all made presentations. Inputs by Invest SA, the Mpumalanga Provincial government, TIKZN, Universal Industries, and OPV Pharmaceuticals sought closer economic cooperation despite the geographical distance between the nations that share a profound historical bond.
The vibrant and colourful arts and culture of Vietnam ‘Dong Ho’ - folk paintings and printmaking, toy making and traditional dress were on display as an attraction for travellers and tourists to Vietnam. Performances of musical and dance acts as well as Vietnamese cuisine was enjoyed at the celebrations.