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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Brazilian President Lula Da Silva during a meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Japan, May 2023. (Source: VNA)
Could you please share the significance and key content of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Brazil this time, especially in the context of the two countries looking towards the 35th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations in 2024?
Vietnam and Brazil officially established diplomatic relations in 1989 and bilateral relations were strengthened when the two countries became Comprehensive Partners in 2007.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is the first Party and Government leader of our country to officially visit Brazil since General Secretary Nong Duc Manh's visit to Brazil in 2007. In 2008, Brazilian President Lula da Silva visited Vietnam. In 2015, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff planned to visit Vietnam but the trip did not materialize. During such a long period, high-level visits between the two countries have been very rare.
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Vietnamese Ambassador to Brazil Pham Thi Kim Hoa. (Photo: TD)
Therefore, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Brazil this time is of great significance to promoting bilateral cooperation in the future.
The visit will mark a new milestone opening a new era of cooperation between Vietnam and Brazil.
The exchanges and meetings between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh with President Lula da Silva and other senior leaders of Brazil, with political parties, social organizations, governments of several states, and Brazilian businesses will help the two sides orient new directions for promoting bilateral cooperation, deepening the Comprehensive Partnership, identifying specific projects and areas of cooperation to bring the relationship between the two countries into depth, substance, and practical effectiveness.
Promoting bilateral cooperation is the main content of the agenda of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit. But of course, it is not only that. The two countries have their own strengths and potentials in economics, trade and technology, and cooperation with each other will create a very practical resonance effect serving the socio-economic development and international integration of each country.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited Brazil at a time when the two countries are looking forward to celebrating the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2024. The results of the visit will not only help to celebrate this milestone more practically but also guide the work of promoting bilateral cooperation to a new height in the coming time.
Brazil is Vietnam's largest trading partner in Latin America with two-way trade reaching 6.78 billion USD in 2022. Could you please assess the potential for bilateral economic cooperation in the coming time, especially in areas of current interest such as renewable energy, science and technology, climate change response, digital transformation, etc.?
The potential for economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Brazil is enormous.
As Vietnam's largest trading partner in Latin America, Brazil is also the largest economy in the region and always plays an important role in regional cooperation and association organizations. Brazil is also a member of the G20, BRICS and MECOSUR groups.
The cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Brazil has long been very good and continuously developing, although it has not yet been as desired and commensurate with the potential of both sides.
Combating climate change, developing new energy sources, digital transformation, ensuring energy and food security, regional integration and security, sustainable growth and equality in international relations... are all areas where the similarities in views between the two sides are very deep.
Both sides can learn from each other, help each other and rely on each other to solve related problems and take advantage of opportunities for mutual development. Exploiting these potentials will bring great and practical benefits to both countries.
For Vietnam, Brazil is the number 1 important partner in the South American region. With the 5th largest area in the world and 211 million people, Brazil is truly a potential market for Vietnam.
Brazil is also the gateway for Vietnam to enter the Latin American markets, just as Vietnam is the door for Brazil to enter ASEAN and Asian countries. Vietnam is moving towards negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with a group of countries in Latin America and Brazil's support is very important in the negotiation process.
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| Vietnamese Ambassador to Brazil Phan Thi Kim Hoa visits and works in Amazonas state, April 2022. |
Half a world apart, according to the Ambassador, how can businesses of the two countries boldly reach out to promote bilateral investment?
The geographical distance is a factor that adversely affects the promotion of bilateral cooperation. The economic sectors of the two countries, especially small and medium enterprises, face difficulties and hesitation due to this geographical distance.
In addition, businesses on both sides also face many language barriers (Brazil is a country that uses Portuguese) and time zone differences also make it difficult for businesses to exchange and contact.
Nowadays, digital technology platforms have helped businesses regularly update information. Online exchanges and online meetings help maintain communication channels. However, all cannot be equal to and cannot replace direct contact, meetings and exchanges, learning about the actual situation on the spot, seeing the potential of both sides with their own eyes.
To help businesses solve difficulties and overcome these hesitations, the two governments need to have practical supportive policy measures and create frameworks and forums for businesses from both countries to regularly meet and discuss directly with each other.
The two sides need to increase delegation exchanges at all levels, coordinate the organization of regular events to promote each other, and act as a "midwife" for new cooperation projects. In addition, the two governments also play an important role in encouraging and creating favorable conditions for businesses to expand.
Therefore, within the framework of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to Brazil, the Vietnam-Brazil Business Forum held in Sao Paulo State received the attention and response of businesses from both countries. Through the forum, the two sides will explore opportunities, response capabilities and open up new, bold directions. This is also an opportunity for the two governments to discuss to remove difficulties and create motivation for businesses to boldly invest and expand.
The event “Coffee with the Ambassador - Vietnamese version” in Brazil was recently successfully organized, receiving the attention of many Brazilian businesses. Could you please share the idea of organizing this event and the efforts of the Embassy in implementing economic diplomacy in recent times?
As you know, Brazil is the world's number 1 exporter of Arabica coffee, while Vietnam is famous for Robusta coffee (bitter, aromatic with higher caffeine content). Brazilians love Vietnamese coffee.
Once, in a conversation with Brazilian journalists, I shared the idea of inviting you to enjoy the taste of Vietnamese coffee. From there, the event “Coffee with the Ambassador - Vietnamese version” was born with the support of the Federation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism of the Federal District (Fecomércio-DF) and the Institute of Young Exporters (IJEx).
The event did not stop at drinking coffee, but we had a discussion, sharing the difficulties after the pandemic, efforts to innovate, apply technology to business and lessons to success with nearly 150 guests, including many business representatives in fields such as agriculture, services, logistics, tourism, manufacturing...
As part of its economic diplomacy activities, over the past three years, the Embassy has organized many meetings with businesses and trade associations of the states to promote Vietnamese products. The representative office has proactively and actively participated in events such as Innova Summit, trade fairs, and cultural activities to integrate the provision of information and introduction of potential and cooperation opportunities with Vietnam.
We also regularly provide news articles to journalists so that Brazilian friends can easily learn about investment policies in Vietnam. In addition to Brazil, the Embassy is also in Peru, Suriname, Guyana and Bolivia. In these countries, we have relations with local trade associations and through the Honorary Consul to promote economic diplomacy.
Thank you Ambassador!
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