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Trade with nations in Asia and Africa witness strides

VGP – International economic integration process has helped Viet Nam secure sustainable export growth to both Asian and African countries.

May 12, 2021 3:01 PM GMT+7

Specifically, Viet Nam's trade with ASEAN member countries increased by 9.7 times, from US$5.9 billion in 1996 to US$57.5 billion in 2019. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the trade volume with the bloc hit US$53.7 billion last year.

In Northeast Asia, the two-way trade between Viet Nam and the Republic of Korea only stood at US$22.5 million in 1983. However, a trade pact between the sides, which officially took effect in 2015, made changes, with the RoK being the third largest trade partner of Viet Nam, after China and the U.S., with the bilateral trade value reaching US$66 billion per year. 

The RoK is also the largest investor in Viet Nam with total registered capital of US$70.4 billion and the second biggest official development assistance provider for the Southeast Asian country. 

The trade volume between Viet Nam and Japan rocketed over the recent years, from US$8.5 billion in 2005 to nearly US$40 billion in 2019 while trade exchanges with China saw remarkable growth, rising from US$30 million in 1991 to US$133.1 billion in 2020. 

Under the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA (AANZFTA), which took effect in 2010, Viet Nam’s exports and imports with the Oceania in 2020 increased by three percent compared to the previous year, to US$9.4 billion.

Meanwhile, Viet Nam's trade with nations in West Asia and Africa reached US$31 billion in 2019./.

By Thuy Dung