1. At the invitation of President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Luong Cuong, President of the South African Republic Cyril Ramaphosa paid a state visit to Vietnam from October 23 to 24, 2025.
2. During the visit, the South African President held talks with President Luong Cuong, met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man.
3. In a warm and friendly atmosphere, President Luong Cuong and President Cyril Ramaphosa highly appreciated the traditional friendship and historical attachment between Vietnam and South Africa. The two leaders expressed their satisfaction with the positive development of bilateral relations since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1993 and established a Partnership for Cooperation and Development in 2004.
4. The two leaders expressed their commitment to further deepening political trust, expanding the scale and level of cooperation towards more comprehensive, substantial and effective in all fields. The two leaders agreed on the orientation of upgrading bilateral relations to the level of Strategic Partnership and the completion of procedures for upgrading relations in 2025.
5. On the basis of good bilateral relations, the two sides agreed to maintain regular exchanges of high-level visits and at all levels. The two leaders highly appreciated the diverse cooperation mechanisms between the two countries and pledged to enhance bilateral dialogue at mechanisms such as the Vietnam - South Africa Intergovernmental Partnership Forum, Political Consultation between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Joint Commercial Committee for Trade, and Defense Dialogue.
6. The two leaders reaffirmed that economic cooperation is an important pillar of bilateral cooperation. The two sides agreed to promote cooperation in all areas such as politics, diplomacy, defense, security, law and justice, trade and investment in two directions, science, technology, digital transformation, agriculture, environment, climate change prevention, biodiversity conservation, wildlife protection, businesses, minerals, education, training, culture, tourism, and at the same time promote the role of gateways of the two countries in each region, through the network of ASEAN and the African Free Trade Area ( African free Trade Zone ( African free trade zone ( African free trade zone) as well as other regional free trade agreements.
7. On the basis of the development of relations and the results achieved by both sides at the 6th session of the Vietnam - South Africa Intergovernmental Partnership Forum in December 2024, to expand and further deepen cooperation potential, the two leaders welcomed the fact that Vietnam will host the 7th session of the Vietnam - South Africa Intergovernmental Partnership Forum in 2026 as an important mechanism to further strengthen dialogue and strategic cooperation between the two countries.
8. The two leaders highly appreciated the results of the Vietnam - South Africa Economic Forum held on the occasion of the visit with the participation of President Cyril Ramaphosa and senior leaders, leaders of ministries, branches as well as the business community of the two countries. The forum is an opportunity for businesses of the two countries to seek cooperation opportunities to exploit the gateway advantages of Vietnam and South Africa.
9. The two sides noted many similarities in world vision and expressed their support for the Southern Hemisphere countries to have a greater voice and role in international relations. The two leaders reaffirmed their national commitment to multilateralism, full respect for the United Nations Charter and international law, promoting the processes of reforming the global governance system fairly and effectively, promoting the implementation of aspirations and strengthening the role of developing countries.
10. President Luong Cuong congratulated South Africa on successfully organizing the conferences within the framework of the G20 Chairmanship in 2025 and believed that South Africa will continue to successfully organize the G20 Summit in November 2025 and successfully assume the role of Chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in 2026.
11. South Africa highly appreciated Vietnam's strong commitment to promoting multilateral cooperation, Vietnam's contributions to global efforts in sustainable development demonstrated through the organization of the 4th Global Green Growth and Goal (P4G) Partnership Summit in April 2025 as well as the organization of the Opening Ceremony of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime (Hanoi Convention) in October 2025.
12. The two leaders expressed their support for the central role of the African Union and ASEAN in regional issues and agreed to seek forms to strengthen cooperation between countries in Asia and Africa and South-South cooperation. Vietnam reaffirms its support for South Africa in enhancing cooperation with ASEAN and member states, especially in areas of mutual interest, in line with the potential and strengths of each country. South Africa expressed its support for Vietnam in enhancing cooperation and making practical contributions to the implementation of the 2063 African Union agenda.
13. South Africa affirms its respect for ASEAN's principle stance, including peaceful settlement of disputes on the basis of the United Nations Charter and international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and other relevant treaties.
14. The two leaders welcomed the positive development momentum in bilateral cooperation and acknowledged the progress in completing negotiations on a number of important documents between the two countries. The two sides agreed to set a goal of signing these documents in 2025 to demonstrate a common commitment to promoting cooperation.
15. President Cyril Ramaphosa thanked President Luong Cuong and senior Vietnamese leaders for their thoughtful and respectful reception, demonstrating the importance of the Vietnam-South Africa Partnership for Cooperation and Development as well as the special affection between the leaders and people of the two countries.
16. President Cyril Ramaphosa respectfully invited President Luong Cuong and senior Vietnamese leaders to visit South Africa at a time suitable for both sides. President Luong Cuong respectfully thanked and suggested assigning the agencies of the two countries to arrange the visit via diplomatic route.
