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Leaders and the business community of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province expressed their readiness to welcome Vietnamese enterprises to explore cooperation opportunities as well as strengthen relations between the countries, during a recent reception for Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Hoang Van Loi.

In his visit to the province from August 23-26, the diplomat briefed the host on Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements in the first six months of this year, stressing there is still room for bringing Vietnam South Africa relations into depth and extensively and pledging the Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa is making efforts and carrying out activities to connect the two countries’ businesses and localities.

Loi said that a Vietnamese business delegation is scheduled to visit South Africa in the first half of September to explore investment and export opportunities in the country in such fields as textiles, footwear, seafood, food processing, construction materials and furniture, as part of a series of activities under the initiative of the Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) Committee in Pretoria.

In Loi’s working sessions, the premier of KwaZulu-Natal province emphasized that the South African government in general and the provincial government in particular attach special importance to the market of more than 650 million people of Southeast Asian countries, saying the relations with Asean countries should be promoted.

It is necessary to strengthen bilateral trade and investment relations in specific fields, including production of high-value wood products, agriculture, telecommunications, Halal food and higher education, among others, she added.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Durban city said he is willing to cooperate with businesses and localities of Asean countries in all fields, considering this a good condition for economic development and job creation for local people.