The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Umar Ahmed, PhD, received at the Ministry the Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, H.E. Mr. Bui Quoc Hung, on Thursday, 10 September 2026. The audience was significant as 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the formalisation of diplomatic relations between Nigeria and Vietnam.
Their discussions focused on strengthening political and diplomatic engagement, with particular emphasis on expediting the establishment and operationalisation of an annual political consultation mechanism between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries. Both sides also underscored the importance of sustained high-level visits and institutional exchanges as a means of maintaining the momentum in bilateral relations.
On economic cooperation, the meeting highlighted the significant potential for expanding bilateral trade and investment, building on Vietnam’s status as Nigeria’s third-largest trading partner in Asia, with bilateral trade exceeding US$1 billion in 2025. In this regard, both sides expressed interest in enhancing market access and promoting trade in key commodities, while encouraging greater Vietnamese investment in Nigeria, particularly in the areas of agriculture, manufacturing, processing, mining, renewable energy and textiles.
The Permanent Secretary emphasised Nigeria’s interest in attracting investment that supports domestic production, value addition, employment generation and technology transfer. He encouraged Vietnamese enterprises to explore opportunities in Nigeria, including the processing of Nigerian raw materials such as cashew nuts, with a view to developing competitive value chains and positioning Nigeria as a manufacturing and distribution base for the wider African market.
Both sides also reviewed the implementation and conclusion of outstanding bilateral instruments covering agriculture, defence, investment protection, avoidance of double taxation, consular and visa matters, extradition, trade and investment, South-South Triangular Cooperation, and political and diplomatic consultations. The Permanent Secretary stressed the need for clear timelines and effective follow-up mechanisms to ensure that bilateral agreements and commitments translate into concrete and measurable outcomes.
The meeting further highlighted opportunities for enhanced Nigeria-Vietnam cooperation within the broader Nigeria-ASEAN relationship. Nigeria’s potential role as a gateway for ASEAN engagement with ECOWAS and the African market, alongside Vietnam’s position as a bridge for Nigeria into ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific region, was recognised as an avenue for enhancing market access for higher volumes of trade between both countries.
At the multilateral level, both sides reaffirmed their shared interests on peace, disarmament, climate change and migration, and underscored the importance of continued consultation and mutual support on appropriate international candidatures. They also encouraged stronger engagement between the Chambers of Commerce of both countries to facilitate business-to-business cooperation and deepen trade and investment relations.
The two sides expressed confidence that the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations would provide an important opportunity to consolidate existing partnerships and chart a course towards a higher level of bilateral relations.
Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to translating longstanding diplomatic goodwill into tangible outcomes in trade, investment, agriculture, defence cooperation, political consultations and people-to-people exchanges.
Signed:
Oluwafemi Adeniyi
Spokesperson
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja
Friday, 11 September 2026
