Buenos Aires (VNA)𓂃 – The Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have enormous potential in terms of trade links, Global President of Mercosur-ASEAN Chamber of Commerce Rodolfo Caffaro Kramer has affirmed after his seventh trade mission to Southeast Asia.

The Mercosur bloc, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, is the world’s fifth-largest economy. It represents a market of 295 million inhabitants and has a GDP of almost 3 trillion USD per year. Meanwhile, ASEAN is the world’s fourth-largest economy with a GDP of 4.1 trillion USD, behind only the US, China and Germany. By 2023, ASEAN accounted for 7% of world trade, 5% of global manufacturing value-added, and attracted 17% of global foreign direct investment (FDI). According to Kramer's assessment, Southeast Asia is developing quickly, as demonstrated by the improving quality of life for the people in the areas that the delegation visited, including Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia. Businesspeople from Mercosur and ASEAN countries are interested in learning about each other's markets, he said, suggesting potential sectors for trade promotion between the two blocs, including food and beverages, animal feed, agriculture, veterinary medicine, logistics services, cosmetics and personal care products, furniture, wood industry, and technology. Affirming that Mercosur and ASEAN complement each other, Kramer considered this as the key to the success of business relations between the two sides. He proposed a "joint venture with shared benefits" model for projects, aiming to build strong and long-lasting relationships./.