The event drew the participation of nearly 60 Mercosur importers and over 100 Vietnamese traders.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai was quoted as saying that the economic and investment ties between Viet Nam and Mercosur have been unceasingly developed over the past years, jumping from US$ 2.45 billion in 2011 to US$ 8.68 billion in 2019.

Viet Nam exported US$ 2.7 billion of goods to Mercosur and posted nearly US$ 6 billion of import value with the Latin American market.  In the first eight months of 2020, the two-way trade turnover hit US$ 5.53 billion, suffering a slight year-on-year decline of 1.66%.

So far, Viet Nam and the Mercosur are deliberating a possibility to negotiate for a free trade agreement in a bid to lifting the bilateral trade ties to a new height.

Secretary of International Economic Relations Mr. Jorge Neme assessed that Mercosur regards the Asian Pacific Region in general and the Southeast Asia in particular as the top priority. Hence, he suggested the two sides frankly discuss possibilities for reaching cooperative deals in favor of mutual benefits.

He affirmed that Mercosur always attaches importance to the relations with Viet Nam and will continue to pursue the policy in the first half of 2021 as Argentina will take over the rotating chairmanship of Mercosur.

Mercosur is an economic and political bloc comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela./.

By Kim Anh