Vietnam highlights Kuwait partnership, targets $12 billion trade by 2030
- Vietnam aims to expand trade with Kuwait to $12 billion by 2030 as the two countries deepen their strategic partnership across energy, food security, investment, digital transformation, logistics, education and tourism.
The Vietnamese Embassy in Kuwait hosted a reception to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Kuwait and Vietnam’s 81st National Day, highlighting the longstanding friendship between the two countries and their growing strategic partnership. The event was attended by Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Sheikh Hamad Suleiman Al-Mishaan, along with ambassadors, diplomats, representatives of government bodies and companies, and members of the Vietnamese community.
Speaking at the reception, the Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Kuwait said his country aims to increase bilateral trade with Kuwait to $12 billion by 2030, noting that the two countries have broad opportunities to strengthen cooperation in energy, food security, digital transformation, finance, logistics, education and tourism.
The ambassador said Kuwait was the first Gulf country to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam in January 1976. He highlighted Kuwait’s support for the Vietnamese people during the war years and its contribution to reconstruction and development efforts following the establishment of peace.
He also expressed appreciation for loans provided by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development to support infrastructure and economic and social development projects in several Vietnamese provinces, as well as Kuwait’s donation of 600,000 vaccine doses during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said these contributions reflected a friendship strengthened through concrete actions over five decades.
The ambassador said the official visit of Vietnam’s Prime Minister to Kuwait in November 2025 marked a historic milestone, during which the two countries elevated their relations to a strategic partnership. He noted that Kuwait is the largest Middle Eastern investor in Vietnam, with investments exceeding $3.5 billion, mainly concentrated in the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex.
Kuwait is also Vietnam’s largest trading partner in the Middle East and Africa, with annual bilateral trade ranging between $7 billion and $7.5 billion over the past three years. Looking ahead, the ambassador said the two countries have significant scope to build on their existing partnership, particularly in sectors including energy, food security, digital transformation, finance, logistics, education and tourism, as they work toward the $12 billion trade target by 2030.
Speaking about Vietnam’s National Day, the ambassador recalled President Ho Chi Minh’s declaration establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945, and outlined the country’s path of independence, reunification and development. He said Vietnam’s economy grew by 8.02 percent in 2025, while the country attracted nearly $41 billion in registered foreign direct investment during the first eight months of 2026, an increase of more than 55 percent compared with the same period last year.
The ambassador concluded by emphasizing that Kuwait-Vietnam relations are based on mutual trust, friendship and shared interests, and expressed his hope for further growth and prosperity in the strategic partnership between the two countries.
