The ambassador's visit aimed to seek cooperation opportunities between Argentina and Ho Chi Minh City and Southern provinces and cities in various fields.
At the reception, the Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee mentioned sustainably-developed relations between Vietnam and Argentina for more than 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1973.
Thereby, the relationship has been maintained and strengthened through visits of high-ranking delegations, achieving significant milestones in economics, education and healthcare.
The bilateral trade turnover increased from US$316 million in 2007 to US$3.45 billion in 2023. Argentina is currently the sixth-largest trading partner of Vietnam, and Vietnam is the third-largest trading partner of Argentina in Latin America.
As disclosed by Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Dung, Argentina is one of the four largest export markets of the City. Currently, the country has four investment projects in Ho Chi Minh City with a total capital of nearly US$38,000.
Ho Chi Minh City always facilitates the operation of foreign investors, including Argentine businesses. At the same time, the city always desires to further promote cooperation with Argentina in three main areas, including trade and investment, education at the university level and sports, and exchanges between Party channels and people-to-people interactions.
Argentine ambassador Marcos A. Bednarski thanked the Ho Chi Minh City leader for the warm welcoming ceremony and stated that this is his first visit to Ho Chi Minh City since undertaking his mission in mid-2023.
The ambassador highly appreciated the remarkable development in bilateral relations and emphasized that Vietnam is Argentina's major market, following China and India.
According to him, Argentine businesses are interested in investment in Ho Chi Minh City, including a project to establish a vaccine production plant. Additionally, Argentina wants to strengthen cooperation with Ho Chi Minh City in rice production, dairy farming and processing.
Mr. Marcos A. Bednarski also proposed promoting the signing of a free trade agreement between Vietnam and Argentina to expand bilateral trade relations.
On this occasion, the ambassador also announced the "Tango Festival" in Ho Chi Minh City on November 28, further strengthening cultural exchanges between the two countries.
