President of Argentina Mauricio Macri (Source: AP)

This is the first visit to Vietnam by Mauricio Macri as President of Argentina. It will be an important milestone in the bilateral relationship, especially after the two countries celebrated the 45th anniversary of their diplomatic ties last year. 

The three-day trip, which comes at the invitation of President Nguyen Phu Trong, also demonstrates the importance of Vietnam in Argentina’s external policy towards Asia in general and Southeast Asia in particular, especially after the Latin American nation signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in August 2018.

Vietnam and Argentina established diplomatic ties on October 25, 1973. Since then, both sides have organised regular delegation exchanges.

The countries have established numerous mechanisms to boost multi-faceted cooperation. They have also signed various agreements to encourage investment, economic-trade cooperation, scientific-technological cooperation, cultural-educational cooperation and collaboration in the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Vietnam and Argentina have also supported each other at multilateral forums such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation, the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) and the South-South Cooperation within the UN framework.

Two-way trade increased from 1.4 billion USD in 2013 to 2.9 billion USD last year — the highest figure between Argentina and any Southeast Asian country. 

Argentina is Vietnam’s second largest trade partner in Latin America, while Vietnam is its fifth biggest import market globally. The two sides are working to raise bilateral trade to 5 billion USD as soon as possible.-