Promoting Vietnam-Tunisia Trade Cooperation

The Vietnam Trade Office in Algeria, concurrently accredited to Tunisia, coordinated with the Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA) to organize a hybrid business matching conference, combining in-person and online participation, to connect enterprises from both countries.

Ha Phuong

June 16, 2026 | 10:15

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Delegates pose for a commemorative photo at the conference. (Photo: VNA)

According to a Vietnam News Agency (VNA) correspondent in North Africa, within the framework of a working visit to Tunis from June 7-12, the Vietnam Trade Office in Algeria, concurrently accredited to Tunisia, coordinated with the Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA) to organize a hybrid business matching conference connecting enterprises from the two countries.

Speaking at the conference, which was attended by 30 businesses from Vietnam and Tunisia, Abdessalem Loued, Member of the National Executive Office of the Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), highly appreciated the annual business networking conference jointly organized by the Vietnam Trade Office and UTICA, describing it as an excellent opportunity to promote bilateral economic and trade relations. He emphasized that despite the geographical distance between the two countries, Tunisia and Vietnam share many similarities, including their strategic geopolitical positions within their respective regions, high-quality human resources, and orientations toward expanding international trade. These factors provide a solid foundation for a shared determination to establish a sustainable partnership based on mutual benefit.

Today, Vietnam has emerged as one of Asia’s most dynamic economies, supported by an advanced industrial base and a domestic market exceeding 100 million people. Tunisia, meanwhile, enjoys a strategic geographic location, participates in extensive free trade agreements, and possesses high value-added industries. As a result, Tunisia can serve as a strategic gateway to major markets in Europe, Africa, and the Mediterranean region.

Opportunities for cooperation between the business communities of the two countries are broad and diverse. Priority sectors identified include food processing, electronic components, textiles and garments, information technology, renewable energy, logistics services, and the digital economy. The complementarity and close integration of the two economies will help optimize resources and create strong momentum for shared development.

In particular, Abdessalem Loued noted that olive oil is one of Tunisia’s flagship national products and holds significant export potential in the Vietnamese market. Tunisia is proud to be one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of olive oil, with more than 100 million olive trees and centuries of cultivation experience passed down through generations. The premium quality of Tunisian olive oil has been recognized through numerous prestigious international awards.

Each year, Tunisia imports 30,000 tonnes of raw coffee (primarily Robusta), 30,000 tonnes of rice, and 360,000 tonnes of sugar. Under current regulations, staple commodities such as rice, sugar, coffee, and green tea are imported exclusively by Tunisia’s Trade Office through international tenders. However, since 2024, under Law 120, certain private Tunisian enterprises have been permitted by the Trade Office to import these products. In 2025, bilateral trade turnover reached USD 180 million, including Tunisia’s import of 10,000 tonnes of Vietnamese green Robusta coffee beans worth more than USD 50 million. During the first five months of this year, Vietnam exported 8,500 tonnes of raw coffee to the Tunisian market.

Abdessalem Loued affirmed that the conference marked an important milestone in transforming shared ambitions into practical and effective cooperation projects and models. He expressed confidence that the potential for economic cooperation between Vietnam and Tunisia remains enormous and should be further explored by both sides. He described the present moment as a golden opportunity for enterprises in both countries to proactively establish connections, expand markets, and achieve new successes.

On this occasion, Hoang Duc Nhuan, Trade Counselor in Algeria concurrently accredited to Tunisia, introduced Vietnam’s economic and trade situation, import-export policies, and bilateral relations. Vietnam and Tunisia signed a Trade Agreement in 1994, under which both sides committed to granting each other Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) status. The two countries have also held three sessions of the Intergovernmental Committee, with the most recent taking place in Tunis in April 2018.

In recent years, enterprises from both countries have shown increasing interest in each other’s markets. Vietnam’s principal exports to Tunisia include footwear and related materials, mobile phones, coffee, pepper, cashew nuts, desiccated coconut, seafood, electronic products, yarn, electrical cables, electrical transformers, garments, fabrics, plastic materials, carboxylic acids, and more. Vietnam’s imports from Tunisia include seafood, medical machinery and equipment, animal feed meal, dates, figs, cotton, plastic raw materials, leather, and textile and garment products.

Hoang Duc Nhuan also introduced several major international trade events to be held in Vietnam, including the Vietnam International Sourcing Expo 2026 (September), Vietnam Food Expo (November), and Vietnam Expo (December), and invited Tunisian agencies and enterprises to participate. A representative of UTICA stated that the organization would consider arranging a business delegation to Vietnam to attend several major international trade fairs and exhibitions this year.

Several Tunisian enterprises raised concerns regarding business trust, payment methods, and relatively high import tariffs between the two countries. Some suggested that the governments of both countries should facilitate greater market access for each other’s goods through measures such as negotiating tariff reductions, establishing a business council, and encouraging enterprises to purchase export insurance. Businesses from both sides also raised numerous questions regarding potential products, trade policies, visa procedures, major flight routes, and support from government authorities, all of which were satisfactorily addressed by the organizers.

On this occasion, the Vietnam Trade Office displayed catalogs and product samples from Vietnamese enterprises and invited delegates attending in person at UTICA headquarters to sample Vietnamese coffee products. During the business matching session, Tunisian enterprises identified partners with whom they could discuss the potential importation of raw coffee, spices, rice, seafood, paper, plastic raw materials, and other products.

Both sides agreed that, in order to further promote bilateral trade relations, it is necessary to continue organizing trade promotion activities, exchange delegations, disseminate information about each other’s potential and strengths, strengthen business connectivity, provide information and support for enterprises participating in major international trade fairs and exhibitions in both countries, and cooperate in verifying information and advising businesses on resolving disputes arising during commercial transactions.

Also during his visit to Tunisia, Trade Counselor Hoang Duc Nhuan held working sessions with leaders of the Department of Cooperation with Arab Countries and ASEAN under the Directorate of Trade of the Tunisian Ministry of Trade and Export Development, the Asia Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad, UTICA, and the Tunisian Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises (CONNECT). He also attended the International Food Trade and Technology Exhibition for Africa (IFTA AFRICA 2026).