Vietnam and Turkey look to raise two-way trade turnover to US$4 billion

The agreement was reached during talks in Ankara on November 29 between Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh who is in the Turkish capital for an official visit at the invitation of the Turkish government.

They said to meet the ambitious goal, the two sides should open the market for each other’s agricultural products and other strong products, promote free trade agreement negotiations and increase the frequency of cargo flights between the two countries.

Turkey is ready to assist Vietnam in developing the Halal industry, helping to raise the two-way trade turnover to a new level, said Yilmaz.

Meanwhile, Chinh assured his host that Vietnam will create the best possible conditions for Turkish businesses to invest in Vietnam’s priority areas such as industrial production, high-tech agriculture, consumption, green economy, and innovation.

Turkey is currently the largest Middle East investor in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of nearly US$1 billion.

The Turkish Vice President hailed the success of Vietur, a joint venture company between Vietnam and Turkey, in the Long Thanh international airport construction project in Vietnam, and expressed his wish that the two sides would make further efforts to improve the efficiency ò investment cooperation in the near future.

The two sides agreed to ramp up cooperation in defense industry, increase information exchange and experience in the fight against crime, and promote cooperation in technical training, search and rescue, and humanitarian relief.

With regard to tourism cooperation, the two sides agreed to promote information exchange, participate in major international tourism events in each country, and consider simplifying visa procedures to further facilitate travel from the two countries.

The two sides also agreed to enhance cooperation in other potential fields such as agriculture, renewable energy, science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, and labour.

Both host and guest underlined the need to soon convene the eighth meeting of the Vietnam - Turkey Intergovernmental Committee in the first quarter. 2024 to review and remove obstacles to specific cooperation projects, accelerate negotiations and sign important cooperation documents in the fields of defense - security, labour, and agriculture, among others.

Chinh proposed that the Turkish Government continue to create more favourable conditions for Vietnamese expatriates living in Turkey to integrate into their host country, contributing to the local development as well as relations between the two countries.

On this occasion, Chinh invited Yilmaz to visit Vietnam, and the invitation was accepted with pleasure.

After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of a number of cooperation documents between the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry; between the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and the Turkish Diplomacy Academy; and between Vietnam Airlines and Turkish Airlines.