At a working session between the delegation and TIKZN. (Photo: VNA)

During the trip, the delegation held working sessions with the Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal (TIKZN), the management board of the Richards Bay Coal Terminal and the railway transport conglomerate Transnet.

Loi informed TIKZN CEO Neville Matjie about plans for the upcoming visit by Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, including a B2B matching event in the province. Both sides agreed to successfully hold activities during the visit.

Matjie expressed his interest in learning from Vietnam’s experience in several sectors. He said KwaZulu-Natal province wants to draw more tourists from Vietnam and acquire its experience in developing tourism models based on business households and small enterprises which have been successful in tourism hubs like Hanoi, Hoi An and Ha Long Bay.

In apparel, he wished to study Vietnam’s ways in attracting foreign direct investment and outsourcing contracts with some of the world's largest fashion labels.

The host also sought Vietnam’s experience in rapidly increasing the proportion of renewable energy in the national energy structure within a short period of time, as well as methods for attracting investment and managing renewable energy projects. He called on Vietnam to invest in wind and solar power in the province.

Located in the southeast of the country, KwaZulu-Natal province is known for its stunning beaches, safari parks, lush green hills, and vast sugarcane and banana plantations, and an extensive network of seaports, making it an ideal destination for Vietnamese investors and businesses to access the South African market, he said.

Loi said in the near future, the Vietnamese Embassy will work with the Vietnam Trade Office in South Africa to arrange trips to the country by delegations of trade, tourism and investment promotion officials.

Visiting Richards Bay Terminal – the biggest coal export terminal in South Africa, the Vietnamese delegation talked with its management board and representatives of Transnet to learn about logistics infrastructure and supply chain from mines to terminal.

Loi said mining will be a cooperation field that the two countries’ industry and trade ministries aim to step up in the coming time, including importing coal from South Africa to diversify material sources for thermal power plants and industrial production in Vietnam.

Talking with the Vietnam News Agency following the working session, CEO of the Richards Bay Coal Terminal Alan Waller described Vietnam as a developing market of South Africa.

Both countries hold the potential in coal import-export, he said, adding that South Africa’s coal quality is good and the terminal could provide effective services that Vietnam need./.