Lula and the Prime Minister of Vietnam discuss the expansion of trade

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met today (21) with the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Pham Minh Chinh, for yet another bilateral meeting within the expanded G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

The two leaders agreed that trade between the two nations could be much better considering Brazil and Vietnam's populations and economies. The leaders also stated that cooperation in  ​​Science and Technology should increase.

Just as he had said at the G7 working session, Lula reiterated that the UN Security Council must change to allow for greater representation by all regions of the world.

Pham Minh Chinh said he also supports an adjustment to the Security Council – and highlighted that nations should support each other in multilateral political dialogues and strive to solve any conflicts peacefully.

Chinh also said he might suggest an agreement between Vietnam and Mercosur to expand trade relations with Brazil. This would be Vietnam's first agreement with South America.

Lula replied that he would address this agreement when Brazil assumes the temporary presidency of the South American bloc. He also said that he intends to increase relations with Vietnam in matters related to government and business.

The president also recalled his visit to Vietnam in 2008 – the first in history by a Brazilian president – and invited Pham Minh Chinh to visit Brazil. The prime minister replied that he intended to do so and also invited Lula to Vietnam.

Diplomatic relations

Diplomatic relations between Brazil and Vietnam were established in 1989. The Brazilian embassy in Hanoi was inaugurated in 1994, and Vietnam's embassy in Brasilia was opened in 2000.

There are a number of agreements in place between the two countries involving fields such as the training of diplomats; partial exemption from visas; sports; combating hunger; science and technology; health; trade; and culture.

Bilateral trade

Trade between Brazil and Vietnam was USD 6.4 billion in 2022. Of this total, Brazilian exports were USD 3.4 billion. Brazil imported just under USD 3 billion in Vietnamese goods over the period.

The products that Brazil sold most to Vietnam were soybean meal (25% of total exports), soybeans (17%), cotton (16%), and corn (14%). Imports from Vietnam were mainly telecommunications equipment (29%), valves and transistors (25%), footwear (6%), and tires (5.5%).