Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa will host Mr Hoang Trung Hai, Deputy Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Cape Town on an official visit to South Africa on Tuesday 4 August 2015. Deputy Prime Minister Trung arrived in South Africa over the weekend.

During his visit, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang will pay a courtesy call on President Jacob Zuma and later hold discussions with Deputy President Ramaphosa to discuss bilateral and multilateral cooperation issues of mutual interest.

During the discussions Deputy Prime Minister Hoang, and Deputy President Ramaphosa the two sides will explore further opportunities for trade and investment with the objective of diversifying the current trade basket and ensuring a more balanced trade by reducing South Africa’s significant trade deficit with Vietnam. The status of cooperation in other important areas such as biodiversity conservation and protection will also be on the agenda for discussion.

Since the establishment of formal diplomatic relations in December 1993, a solid bilateral relationship has developed between South Africa and Vietnam, reflected among others, in the 13 bilateral legal instruments concluded between them.

These instruments include cooperation in the areas of foreign relations, trade and investment, defence, consular affairs, tourism, water resources, biodiversity conservation and protection and combating crime.

One of these instruments relates to the establishment in 2004 of the Inter-Governmental Partnership Forum for Economic, Trade, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Co-operation aimed atfacilitating bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest. The most recent meeting of the Partnership Forum between the two countries took place in Hanoi on 18 and 19 June 2015 at deputy ministerial level.

According to official South African trade statistics, total trade between South Africa and Vietnam is growing year-on-year and amounted to R13.4 billion in 2014 (up from R11.2 billion in 2013) out of a total of just under R107 billion with the ten member states of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

MEDIA IS INVITED AS FOLLOWS:

TIME       :               15h30 (for silent guard of honour
                                Followed by photo-opportunity at the start of bilateral discussions and opening remarks
                                18h15- Press Conference
DATE      :               Tuesday 4 August 2015
VENUE   :               Tuynhuys, Cape Town

Enquiries: Mr Clayson Monyela 082 884 5976 and Mr Ronnie Mamoepa, 082 990 4853

ISSUED BY THE PRESIDENCY

3 AUGUST 2015