Bright prospects for Vietnam-Africa cooperation Two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Africa grew to an annual US$5 billion over the 2000–2013 period. A HCM City south-south farm produce cooperation forum was told on January 9. Participants noted that Vietnam has also signed cooperative trade agreements with 25 out of 55 African nations and is looking to make new diplomatic breakthroughs in the near future. The forum offered businesses an opportunity to share experience and explore possible partnerships in importing and exporting rice, cashew nuts, construction materials, canned and dried fruits, and agricultural processing machinery and equipment. Africa’s more than one billion consumers makes it a market rich in potential, especially considering the prices of Vietnamese goods broadly accord with local living standards. Vietnamese-African trade exchange has previously encountered the hindrances of geographical distance, transportation expenses, and bureaucratic formalities complicating payments. Many forum participants said administrative and financial red tape must be streamlined to allow Vietnamese businesses to invest in African markets. Nguyen Ngoc Thang, Deputy Head of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (VCCI) International Relations Department, said state agencies will support Vietnamese enterprises’ African ambitions. He said increased trade with Africa is also part of State strategy. The diplomatic and trade agreements already negotiated testify to VCCI’s  past efforts. The forum formed part of the 2014 Vietnam-Africa Business Forum 2014, an initiative aimed at facilitating cooperative relations between Vietnamese businesses and central and western African partners. VOV