Vietnam, Morocco eye new trade deal to propel bilateral trade

27/07/2025 14:46

Vietnam and Morocco have agreed to initiate negotiations for a new trade accord to accelerate their rapidly growing bilateral trade while expanding collaboration across other strategic sectors.

Chairman of Vietnam's National Assembly Tran Thanh Man and Speaker of Morocco's House of Representatives Rachid Talbi Alami reached the agreement during their talks in Rabat on Friday, as part of the former's official visit to Morocco from Thursday to Sunday.

Chairman Man praised the impressive growth in Vietnam–Morocco trade relations, noting that Morocco is currently Vietnam's second-largest trading partner in North Africa, with bilateral trade steadily increasing year by year, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

He highlighted that two-way trade reached US$320 million in the first five months of 2025, already surpassing the total of $302 million for the entire year of 2024.

Chairman Man emphasized that despite recent gains, the current trade volume remains modest given the considerable potential of both markets.

He called on Vietnam and Morocco to negotiate a new trade agreement aligned with current global realities, replacing the 2001 pact, to help further boost trade volumes in the years ahead.

Additionally, Chairman Man advocated for enhancing market information sharing, promoting sustainable trade initiatives within multilateral frameworks, and exploring joint production and export opportunities to third-party markets.

He also called for enhanced cooperation in other strategic sectors such as agricultural processing, fertilizer production, and renewable energy.

Speaker Alami welcomed the proposals for a new trade agreement and highlighted the aspiration for the two countries to build mutually beneficial ties, serving as gateways and bridges to each other's regional markets.

He proposed upgrading cooperation mechanisms to involve parliaments, ministries, and businesses from both sides, potentially through a joint body or enhanced intergovernmental committee.

Alami expressed his belief that Chairman Man's visit would contribute to expanding bilateral engagement in priority areas such as trade, agriculture, renewable energy, climate change, electric vehicles, electronics, and tourism.

During the meeting, the two leaders signed a parliamentary cooperation agreement and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening multilateral cooperation, especially within the United Nations (UN) and interregional platforms.

They agreed on advocating the peaceful resolution of disputes, refraining from use or threat of force, and upholding international law and the UN Charter.

On this occasion, Chairman Man extended an invitation to Speaker Alami to visit Vietnam, which was graciously accepted.

Vinh Tho - Thanh Hien / Tuoi Tre News

Link nội dung: https://news.tuoitre.vn/vietnam-morocco-eye-new-trade-deal-to-propel-bilateral-trade-103250727143102338.htm