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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the plenary session of the expanded BRICS Summit in Russia, October 2024. (Source: VNA) |
On the occasion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife leading a high-ranking delegation to attend the 2025 BRICS Summit and bilateral activities in Brazil from July 4-8 at the invitation of Brazilian President Lula da Silva, Vietnamese Ambassador to Brazil Bui Van Nghi gave an interview to The Gioi va Viet Nam Newspaper, highlighting the significance and messages conveyed during the working trip, and sharing about the cooperation orientation of the Vietnam-Brazil Strategic Partnership in the context of the current volatile world economy .
How does the Ambassador assess the significance of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's working trip to attend the 2025 BRICS Summit and bilateral activities in Brazil, especially after Vietnam became a partner country of this multilateral mechanism?
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| Vietnamese Ambassador to Brazil Bui Van Nghi. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Brazil) |
The working trip of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh leading the Vietnamese delegation to Brazil to attend the 2025 BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro is of great significance in affirming Vietnam's increasingly high position in the international arena.
Brazil, as the rotating chair of BRICS 2025, announced Vietnam as one of the ten BRICS partner countries on June 14, 2025 (Hanoi time), demonstrating recognition of Vietnam's geostrategic role and economic potential with a population of nearly 100 million and an increasingly important position and role in the region and the world.
The working trip not only further strengthens the Vietnam-Brazil Strategic Partnership, which was upgraded in November 2024, but also creates new momentum for bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the context of the world experiencing many fluctuations, from disruptions in global supply chains, production and consumption after the Covid-19 pandemic to geopolitical competition between major countries.
As a BRICS partner, Vietnam has the opportunity to participate more deeply in global initiatives on health, climate change, technology and trade, while contributing to the shaping of a more democratic, fair and inclusive international order. This working trip also demonstrates the peaceful, independent, self-reliant and confident foreign policy of the “Vietnamese bamboo diplomacy school”, which is unchanging and adaptable to all changes, following Ho Chi Minh's thought in the new era, flexible, persistent, principled and balanced, in maintaining relations, economic, trade and investment cooperation with neighboring, regional and traditional partners such as ASEAN, Asia, Europe, North America, while promoting the expansion and diversification of new markets for supply and consumption, especially in the South America/Latin America-Caribbean region, where Brazil is a major and potential partner.
The BRICS Summit 2025 is an opportunity for Vietnam to share its experience in innovation, sustainable economic development, and management, in fighting the pandemic and in recovery and development, and to learn from BRICS member countries and partners on technology, governance and sustainable development. It is also an opportunity for Vietnam to affirm its commitment to promoting peace, win-win cooperation, and a multipolar world where developing countries have a stronger voice.
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| Brazilian President Lula da Silva speaks at the BRICS meeting in Brasília in February 2025. (Source: DPA) |
What is special about the context and agenda of this year's BRICS Summit? What message does Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh plan to attend and send at the Summit?
The BRICS 2025 Summit, themed “Strengthening South-South Cooperation for Inclusive and Sustainable Global Governance”, focuses on priorities such as global health cooperation, trade, investment and finance, climate change, artificial intelligence governance, multilateral peace and security architecture, and institutional development. BRICS members, representing 49% of the world’s population and 39% of global GDP, play an important role in promoting Southern cooperation and global trade, especially as developing countries need new resources to thrive in the new era.
The BRICS 2025 Agenda is particularly relevant to Vietnam’s priorities, such as sustainable economic development towards the goal of becoming a high-income developed country by 2045, responding to climate change in coastal areas, and promoting digital transformation. Vietnam, as a BRICS partner, will actively participate in discussions on trade, AI technology, semiconductors, and renewable energy, and share experiences in pandemic management and sustainable economic development.
Vietnam is committed to promoting a rules-based international order, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation. This is also an opportunity for Vietnam to propose specific initiatives for strengthening South-South cooperation, especially in the fields of health, education, science and technology, and at the same time, call for solidarity among developing countries to address global challenges such as climate change and poverty reduction, in line with the goals of P4G (Partnership for Green Growth).
Vietnam, a nation with a glorious history, a tradition of loving peace, humanity, and harmony, a pioneer in the national liberation movement, is now actively and proactively in innovation, international integration, open-minded, and learning to develop the country sustainably, strongly demonstrating its role and responsibility in contributing to promoting multilateral cooperation, including regional cooperation as well as acting as a bridge between BRICS and ASEAN, and sharing experiences with developing countries to build a world of peace, development, stability, and prosperity.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Brazilian President Lula da Silva in Hanoi on March 28, 2025. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
This is Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's return to Brazil after a historic working trip marking the upgrading of bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership in November 2024. The working trip also follows the State visit to Vietnam by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in March 2025. What do the successive high-level delegation exchanges say about bilateral relations, Ambassador?
The successive high-level visits between Vietnam and Brazil in the 2023-2025 period, especially the official visit to Brazil by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in September 2023, the attendance at the G20 Summit in November 2024 with the milestone of upgrading the relationship to a Strategic Partnership, and the recent State visit by President Lula da Silva to Vietnam in March 2025, are testament to the strong, substantive, effective and trustworthy development of the bilateral relationship. These exchanges demonstrate the common commitment of the two countries to deepen the Strategic Partnership, substantively and effectively, promoting the expansion of cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, agriculture, science, technology, energy, national security and defense, sports, culture and people-to-people exchange.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit in 2023 laid a solid foundation with four cooperation documents in education, defense, agriculture, and diplomacy, with the goal of bringing bilateral trade turnover to 10 billion USD by 2025 and 15 billion USD by 2030. The upgrading of relations to a Strategic Partnership in November 2024 at the G20 Summit and President Lula da Silva's State visit to Vietnam in March 2025, with the Action Plan to implement the Strategic Partnership for the period 2025-2030, have concretized these commitments, from Brazil's recognition of Vietnam as a market economy, to opening the market, and supporting the negotiation of a free trade agreement with the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR). These steps not only strengthen political trust but also open up new opportunities for cooperation in strategic areas, contributing to the socio-economic development of both countries.
The exchange of successive high-level visits also shows that Vietnam and Brazil are taking advantage of each other’s potential to diversify markets, avoid dependence on a few traditional markets, “put all your eggs in one basket”, and promote win-win cooperation in a volatile world. The increasingly developed bilateral relationship is a testament to mutual respect, complementary interests, and a common commitment to contributing to peace, stability, and sustainable development on a global scale.
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| Workshop on Trade Opportunities between Vietnam and Brazil held in Sao Paulo, April 2025. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Brazil) |
According to the Ambassador, what should the two countries do to develop the Strategic Partnership strongly, go deeper, and make practical contributions to the socio-economic development of the two countries in the context of the current volatile world economy?
In order for the Vietnam-Brazil Strategic Partnership to develop strongly and in depth, the two countries need to focus on practical, diverse and win-win cooperation orientations, taking advantage of each other's potential.
First, promote trade and investment. The two countries need to promote trade in complementary and complementary products in the fields of agriculture, livestock, agricultural products, food, energy, minerals and consumer goods.
For example, Vietnam can import from soybeans, corn, sugar, cotton, beef to many types of minerals, especially iron ore, gemstones, granite, construction materials, wood, wood products, pulp... as input materials for domestic production and processing and export to third countries. Conversely, Vietnam can export to Brazil from seafood such as tra, basa fish, tilapia, shrimp; processed agricultural products such as cashew nuts, coffee; to consumer goods, clothes, shoes of all kinds; products of inner tubes, tires of cars, all kinds of motorbikes, electric bicycles; to smartphones, electronics, computers, components...
Vietnam and Brazil are located in two opposite hemispheres (East-West, South-North), so tropical fruits and agricultural products can complement each other and can be exchanged, imported and exported to serve the needs of consumers in the two countries because of different crop seasons.
Brazil also has many tropical plant and animal varieties that are very suitable for the climate, soil and terrain of Vietnam with high productivity and quality, valuable for domestic consumption and export. Therefore, investment and trade cooperation in the fields of agriculture and livestock is also very potential. Vietnam can cooperate in cattle breeding and meat processing, import and develop Brazilian quail breeds or plant and breed, develop peach palm trees with many nutritional values, contributing to economic development for people in highland areas, areas where it is difficult to grow other crops, and protecting the environment in Vietnam.
Through research and observation, we found that Brazil as well as the South American countries where the Vietnamese Embassy in Brazil is also assigned (Bolivia, Suriname, Guyana and Peru) have tropical climate conditions, favorable natural conditions, spacious and fertile land, "golden forests, silver seas" but are very short of labor, and the governments of these countries have policies to attract foreign investment, suitable for the level, capacity and strengths of Vietnam.
With friendly, peaceful and responsible political and diplomatic relations, Vietnam will be a potential partner for mutually beneficial cooperation. Vietnamese enterprises can invest or form joint ventures with Brazilian enterprises in agricultural production, processing, aquaculture, beverage production or joint ventures, especially investing in your industrial zones and export processing zones to enjoy preferential policies and funds for domestic production and consumption and export to South American-Caribbean countries as well as export back to North America with the US and Canadian markets.
The agricultural production model that Vietnam is implementing to help and support its Cuban friends could be a good example for expanding cooperation and investment to Brazil, especially South American countries with lower production levels.
The Vietnamese Embassy in Brazil is actively working with Brazil, which holds the rotating presidency of BRICS for the next six months, to promote negotiations on free trade agreements, mechanisms and agreements to promote cooperation, trade and investment, creating conditions for businesses from both sides to access each other's markets in order to enhance cooperation and business between the two countries in association with the ASEAN and South American regions.
Second, expand cooperation in strategic areas. The two countries need to leverage the strengths of BRICS, especially in technology, renewable energy, and artificial intelligence, to support Vietnam in achieving its goals of digital transformation and sustainable development.
Brazil, with its abundant rare earth and energy resources, could cooperate with Vietnam in high-tech manufacturing and clean energy projects. Agreements on science, technology, innovation, and justice should be implemented substantively, including cooperation in combating transnational crime.
Third , promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges, such as academic, educational, tourism, and sports exchanges, especially football – an area in which Brazil has strengths.
The signing of the agreement between the two Football Federations in March 2025 is the first step to promote cooperation between football clubs and localities. Cultural events such as Vietnam Day in Rio de Janeiro (November 2024), the International Food and Culture Festival in Brasília (May 2025) should be promoted and organized regularly to promote Vietnamese culture, country and people in Brazil.
The Embassy also hopes that media agencies, such as VNA and Vietnam Television , will establish permanent offices in Brazil - Vietnam's first strategic partner in South America with increasing position, role and importance in the region and the world, to strengthen information work and promote the image of each other's people and culture, contributing to promoting mutual understanding between the people of Vietnam and Brazil, creating a solid people-to-people foundation for developing relations and cooperation to a new level of strength and longevity between the two countries and peoples in the future.
Fourth, twinning cooperation and local exchanges should be promoted, facilitating economic and cultural cooperation at the local level.
With the geostrategic and geoeconomic positions, and the characteristics, natural conditions, and socio-economic conditions of each country, along with increasingly strong political trust, the relationship between Vietnam and Brazil has many opportunities to promote cooperation and develop more strongly. Especially in the fields of development, management and operation of seaports, logistics, agriculture and processing industry, education and training, mining and metallurgy, science and technology, culture and tourism, sports, etc.
The exchange and progress towards connecting and connecting practical and effective cooperation between the states and cities of Brazil and the provinces and cities of Vietnam is a direction that we need to pay attention to promoting in the coming time. Thereby, we can take advantage of and promote the full potential and strengths of each pair of localities of the two countries, contributing to promoting a more practical, effective, and increasingly close and sustainable cooperative relationship between the two countries in the future.
People-to-people exchange cooperation programs, tourism promotion, cooperation, twinning between universities, research institutes, exchanges of scholars, researchers, students, and athletes need to be given more attention and promoted to enhance mutual understanding and mutually beneficial cooperation between the people of the two countries.
Fifth, Vietnam can play a bridging role between Brazil and ASEAN, while Brazil supports Vietnam in accessing MERCOSUR and Latin American economies.
Political trust and multilateral cooperation will help the two countries develop together, especially in areas such as health, education, and climate change response, in line with the goals of BRICS and P4G. These efforts will not only help the two countries overcome global economic challenges but also make practical contributions to socio-economic development, strengthening the positions of Vietnam and Brazil in a multipolar, democratized, and win-win cooperation world.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife and delegates cut the ribbon to open Vietnam Day in Brazil, November 2024. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
Cultural and sports exchanges have been an important bridge of Vietnam-Brazil friendship since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1989. What cultural and sports exchanges have the two countries had in recent times to strengthen the connection between the people of the two countries?
Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1989, Vietnam and Brazil have continuously fostered friendship through cultural and sports exchanges. These events not only bring the people of the two countries closer together but also contribute to promoting comprehensive cooperation, from economic, social to political.
In terms of culture , the Vietnam Day in Brazil event held in Rio de Janeiro in November 2024, right before the G20 Summit, was an important milestone. The event introduced special art performances such as water puppetry, Vovinam traditional martial arts performances, a photo exhibition on 35 years of Vietnam-Brazil relations, and booths on traditional arts and games such as Dong Ho paintings, lacquer paintings, and figurines made of clay figurines. This event attracted a large number of Brazilians and international delegates, contributing to spreading and promoting the image of the country and people of Vietnam.
On the same occasion, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended the inauguration ceremony of the commemorative plaque honoring President Ho Chi Minh in the Santa Teresa neighborhood, Rio de Janeiro, where he lived and worked during his journey to find a way to save the country in 1912. The commemorative plaque, engraved in Vietnamese and Portuguese, recognizes President Ho Chi Minh's contributions to the national liberation movement and the Vietnam-Brazil friendship. This event is not only a symbol of solidarity but also inspires international solidarity.
In terms of sports , the Vietnam-Brazil football festival in Da Nang from April 10-11, 2024 is a prominent sporting event, attracting nearly 18,000 spectators. With the participation of Brazilian legends such as Dunga, Rivaldo and Lucio, the event includes friendly matches, the inauguration of the Brazilian Football Center, and charity activities such as awarding scholarships to local children.
In addition, under the 2025-2030 Action Plan, signed in March 2025, Vietnam and Brazil pledged to strengthen sports cooperation, including the exchange of athletes and coaches in sports such as football, tennis, and martial arts. A memorandum of understanding on football cooperation was also signed, paving the way for future training and exchange programs, emphasizing the role of sports in bringing people together.
Thank you very much Ambassador!
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/dai-su-bui-van-nghi-cam-ket-vi-hoa-binh-va-hop-tac-cung-thang-cua-viet-nam-tai-hoi-nghi-thuong-dinh-brics-mo-rong-2025-319683.html
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