On February 2, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh began an official working trip to Kazakhstan.

During the first day of the visit, Nguyen Hoa Binh held talks with Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin. Discussions centred on concrete steps to implement the Strategic Partnership framework established during Party General Secretary To Lam’s visit to Kazakhstan in May 2025.

Zhumangarin conveyed congratulations from President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev to To Lam on the success of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and extended best wishes for Vietnam’s upcoming election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term, scheduled for March. Kazakhstan expressed confidence that Vietnam would achieve its two centennial goals and successfully join the group of the world’s 20 emerging economies.

Nguyen Hoa Binh briefed the Kazakh side on the outcomes of the 14th National Party Congress, as well as Vietnam’s foreign policy guideline and major orientations for socio-economic development in the period ahead. He said Vietnam had identified the development of an international financial centre as a new driver for rapid and sustainable growth in the new era.

Building on three decades of positive relations, the two sides agreed on several specific measures to advance bilateral cooperation. In trade, they agreed to establish a Vietnam-Kazakhstan Business Council in 2026. In addition to Kazakhstan’s wheat exports to Vietnam in 2025, both sides said trade turnover should be further expanded, with Kazakhstan able to export products in which it has strengths, including flour, beef and cooking oil.

Zhumangarin stressed that Kazakhstan was ready to serve as a “golden gateway” for Vietnam to access Central Asian and European markets, while expressing the hope that Vietnam would likewise become a “golden gateway” for Kazakhstan to Southeast Asia.

Kazakhstan plans to open a consulate in Ho Chi Minh City and organise Kazakhstan Culture Week in Vietnam on the occasion of a session of the Intergovernmental Committee on scientific and technological cooperation. The Kazakh side thanked Vietnam for its support at multilateral forums, and both countries agreed to continue backing each other’s candidacies at international organisations.

Binh proposed increasing high-level and all-level exchanges to strengthen the political foundation for expanding cooperation from traditional areas into new fields such as technology, green transition, digital transformation and, in particular, cooperation between the two international financial centres.

On financial-centre connectivity, Nguyen Hoa Binh called on Kazakhstan to promote linkages among management agencies, exchanges, issuers and investors of the two countries. Zhumangarin welcomed Vietnam’s plan to establish an international financial centre and affirmed Kazakhstan’s readiness to facilitate cooperation between the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) and Vietnam’s future centre, while sharing experience in developing such a hub.

Visit to Astana International Financial Centre

Also on February 2, Nguyen Hoa Binh visited AIFC to study its operations and exchange experience.

He was received by AIFC Governor Renat Bekturov, Chief Executive Officer of the AIFC Financial Services Authority Evgeniya Bogdanova, Chief of Staff Dinara Zhakupova, Legal Department Director Zhali Ualiyev, Green Finance Centre CEO Manas Gizhduanniyev, along with senior officials and advisers.

AIFC leaders outlined the centre’s structure and answered questions from the Vietnamese delegation. The centre was established under Kazakhstan’s Constitution and the Constitutional Statute on the Astana International Financial Centre, adopted on December 7, 2015. It became operational on July 5, 2018, and operates under the principles of English and Welsh common law, adapted to domestic conditions, creating a distinct and favourable environment for financial services and related sectors.

Located within a clearly defined area of Astana at the EXPO 2017 site, AIFC benefits from modern and integrated infrastructure.

With its strategic position at the crossroads of Eurasia, AIFC aims to become a financial and business hub linking Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Middle East, Mongolia, Europe and western China. Its priorities include attracting foreign investment into Kazakhstan, developing capital markets and financial services, promoting new products such as fintech, green finance and Islamic finance, and advancing international integration through stronger ties with global financial centres.

The AIFC governing council is chaired by the President of Kazakhstan, with the Prime Minister as vice chair and members including deputy prime ministers, the central bank governor and several ministers. The centre comprises nine entities, including the management authority, financial services authority, court, international arbitration centre, one-stop support office, International Exchange, AIFC Academy, green finance centre and technology hub.

From its launch to the end of 2025, AIFC attracted US$20 billion in investment, with more than 4,900 companies from over 90 countries and territories registered, including more than 1,500 firms in finance and insurance. Companies operating at AIFC contributed 221.2 billion tenge (about US$436.3 million) to Kazakhstan’s state budget.

AIFC Court Chief Justice Christopher Campbell-Holt underscored the importance of an independent court system operating separately from domestic courts and under internationally recognised standards to ensure transparency and impartiality.

Binh thanked AIFC’s leaders for the warm reception and expressed hope that AIFC and Vietnam’s future international financial centre would bolster cooperation and form a regional financial connectivity corridor, noting similarities in their models and governance structures.

The same day, he met Nurlan Zhakupov, CEO of Samruk-Kazyna, to further enhance business-community linkages between the two countries, particularly in areas with untapped potential.

Zhakupov briefed the Vietnamese side on the fund’s operations. Samruk-Kazyna ranks 21st globally by assets under management, with more than US$88 billion, and serves as Kazakhstan’s key sovereign wealth fund. Its activities span investment, sustainable development policies, corporate governance and social support, overseeing enterprises in strategic sectors including energy and natural resources, transport and logistics, telecommunications and services, industry and real estate.

The fund plays a central role in driving foreign direct investment into Kazakhstan and participates in joint ventures with partners from the US,  the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Malaysia, Italy, France, Germany, South Korea and Japan.

Deputy PM Binh called on Samruk-Kazyna to work with Vietnam to develop value chains and strengthen economic and financial linkages between the two countries and with global markets, thereby boosting investment and business cooperation. He also encouraged the fund to introduce its portfolio companies to investment opportunities in Vietnam, particularly at the international financial centre and in potential sectors such as energy, mining and telecommunications.

Representatives of Vietnam’s State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) joined the delegation to explore potential investment cooperation between the two sides.

Party chief calls for five key "connections" in Vietnam–Kazakhstan cooperation

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam visited and delivered a policy speech at the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Kazakhstan on May 6 evening (local time), as part of his state visit to the Central Asian nation.