Hanoi (VNA)ꦗ – The Embassy of Vietnam in Brazil on September 16 hosted a seminar on potential and opportunities for Vietnam and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) to boost cooperation.

The event, which aimed to promote stronger ties between Vietnam, Brazil, and other South American countries, saw the participation of Brazilian Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Inacio Arruda, federal officials, parliamentarians, ambassadors and representatives of Mercosur embassies, academia, journalists, business leaders, and students of international trade and relations. Addressing the seminar, Vietnamese Ambassador Bui Van Nghi highlighted Vietnam’s economic progress, with total foreign trade turnover reaching around 600 billion USD and a surplus of nearly 14 billion USD in the first eight months of 2025. He underlined Mercosur’s development potential and strategic significance to Vietnam amid growing globalisation and interdependence among regions and economies. Brazil, he stressed, is Vietnam’s largest partner within Mercosur. Bilateral ties have advanced markedly, with the two sides establishing a strategic partnership in November 2024. In March 2025, Brazil recognised Vietnam’s market economy status. The two countries have also opened markets for each other's agricultural products. Trade has grown from 200 million USD in 2000 to nearly 8 billion USD in 2024, accounting for 35% of Vietnam – Latin America trade. The two sides are targeting 15 billion USD by 2030. Nghi expressed Vietnam’s wish to launch negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) during Brazil’s term as Mercosur Chair, saying such a step would serve the practical interests of both sides while diversifying markets. He also called for more exchanges of government, parliamentary, and business delegations to foster economic, trade, and investment links. For his part, Arruda emphasised the importance of stronger exchanges between South America and Southeast Asia, noting that diversifying markets and supply chains is crucial to expanding ties between Brazil and Vietnam. He said economic integration must be accompanied by strategic initiatives to build resilience and complementarity between the two regions, pointing out opportunities in agriculture, energy, and high-tech industries. He proposed stepping up cooperation in science and technology through more regular exchanges of research delegations. Paco Britto, Secretary for Foreign Affairs in Brasilia, praised Vietnam’s role as a strategic hub in Asia with a young population and strengths in technology, agriculture, and renewable energy. He described Vietnam – Mercosur ties as complementary. Vietnam exports technology, textiles, electronics, and processed food to Mercosur which, in turn, supplies grains, meat, fruit, wine, and energy solutions. Fabio Maia, Investment Director at food giant JBS, welcomed the arrival of the company’s first beef shipment in Vietnam and noted Brazil’s imports of Vietnamese tilapia. JBS has approved a plan to build a meat processing plant in Vietnam which will serve as an export hub for Asia, especially China and ASEAN. On September 17, the Vietnamese Ambassador received Federal Deputy Marcio Honaiser and Davinopolis Mayor Jose Goncalves Lima, who introduced the agricultural potential of Maranhao state and the Matopiba region, as well as the strategic position of the Davinopolis dry port in Brazil’s logistics network. Nghi reiterated Vietnam’s interest in agricultural, food security, and bioenergy cooperation, and urged parliamentary, government, and business cooperation to support the negotiation of an FTA between Vietnam and Mercosur./.