Vietnam, Chile Forge Stronger Trade Ties

Recently, Mr. Pham Tan Cong, President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) had a meeting with Ms. Claudia Sanhueza, Deputy Minister responsible for international economic relations at the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and her delegation to enhance trade and investment ties between Vietnam and Chile. On this occasion, Vietnam Business Forum had an exclusive interview with Ms. Claudia Sanhueza.

VCCI President Pham Tan Cong (R) presents a gift as a token of appreciation to Ms. Claudia Sanhueza, Deputy Minister responsible for international economic relations at the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs

What positive outcomes has the Vietnam-Chile FTA brought to the development of trade and investment between the two countries since it came into effect?

Since the Vietnam-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was ratified and officially took effect in 2014, businesses from the two countries have effectively taken advantage of opportunities from the agreement to exploit their markets together.

The year 2022 marks bilateral trade turnover reaching a record level of US$2.2 billion, doubling within 5 years since 2018. Currently, Chile is one of four trade partners with a turnover of billion USD of Vietnam. In 2023, two-way trade turnover will reach US$1.57 billion, down 27.2% compared to 2022. Of which, Vietnam exports US$1.19 billion and imports US$375 million. Entering 2024, trade exchange in the first five months of the year reached nearly US$800 million, an increase of 8.5% over the same period last year. These are positive signs to believe that bilateral economic and trade cooperation will improve shortly.

Our two countries not only have bilateral free trade agreements but are also members of multilateral organizations and forums such as APEC or CCTPP and we believe that these multilateral forums and organizations will create many favorable opportunities for two-way trade between Vietnam and Chile.

Vietnam is a very important member of ASEAN and Chile is currently holding the role of chair of the Pacific Alliance, so we can take advantage of bilateral relations between Vietnam and Chile to tighten and further promote the relationship between ASEAN and the Pacific Alliance, these are two economic blocs that are considered very dynamic and play an important role in the economic development of the two geographical regions.

We have seen that in recent years, Vietnam has not only grown strongly in terms of economy but also in population size, and we believe that this growth momentum of Vietnam will continue for many years to come, so for us, being able to find potential partners in Vietnam will be a very important opportunity to strengthen our presence in the ASEAN region.

VCCI President Pham Tan Cong welcomes the Chilean delegation led by Ms. Claudia Sanhueza, Deputy Minister responsible for international economic relations at the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Could you indicate which sectors are focal points in Chile's economic development strategy, and how can the two countries collaborate to promote growth in these sectors?

Chile is rich in minerals and resources and is the leading country in world production and export of copper and lithium, but agricultural products, especially livestock, account for half of the proportion of exported goods.

The country of Chile spans many climatic zones, so Chilean agricultural products are also very diverse. Products such as wine, fruit, salmon, and pork have been exported to many Asian countries, however, the quantity exported to Vietnam is still very modest. Our goal shortly is to improve this number.

Chile has also committed to reducing carbon emissions. In the national strategy for lithium development, we are ready to invite Vietnamese investors and businesses to work in these fields and join hands in the green transformation, switching to using renewable energy, and clean energy.

In the future, we hope to cooperate with VCCI to find a suitable mechanism for businesses, especially SMEs, to find opportunities for cooperation and business in Vietnam.

We hope that through this trip we can convey information and connect businesses of the two countries that wish to cooperate.

Thank you very much!

By Bui Lien, Vietnam Business Forum