Another American country recognizes Vietnam as a market economy
On the afternoon of August 5, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien received and worked with Mr. Manuel Tovar Rivera, Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica.
The two sides discussed Costa Rica’s recognition of Vietnam as a market economy. Minister Nguyen Hong Dien thanked and acknowledged Costa Rica’s goodwill, and requested that the two sides’ technical levels continue to coordinate on this content.
At the same time, Minister Manuel Tovar Rivera presented a diplomatic note recognizing Vietnam as a market economy to the Minister of Industry and Trade. The two ministers witnessed the handover ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Trade Promotion Agency – Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Foreign Trade Promotion Agency PROCOMER Costa Rica.
In the first half of 2024, bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and Costa Rica reached 99.95 million USD, up 18.1% over the same period last year; of which, Vietnam’s exports to Costa Rica reached 76.80 million USD, up 20.9%, imports from Costa Rica reached 23.15 million USD, up 9.9%.
The main export items of Vietnam to Costa Rica are: Means of transport and spare parts, phones of all kinds and components, machinery, equipment, other spare parts, computers, electronic products and components, other base metals and products, aquatic products, raw plastics, and footwear of all kinds.
In the opposite direction, Vietnam mainly imports from Costa Rica machinery, equipment, tools, other spare parts, computers, electronic products and components, wood and wood products.
Costa Rica is a country located in Central America, ranked as one of the most visited international destinations. One of Costa Rica’s main sources of income is tourism.
According to the World Bank, Costa Rica is in many ways a development success story. It is considered an upper middle-income country that has shown steady economic growth over the past 25 years. This growth is the result of an outward-looking strategy, based on openness to foreign investment and gradual trade liberalization.
The combination of political stability, social contract, and steady growth has resulted in one of the lowest poverty rates in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2023, Costa Rica’s GDP increased by 5.1%.
Thus, as of August 2024, 73 countries and territories have recognized Vietnam as a market economy. The earliest country to recognize it was China, from October 1, 2004.
