Talks were held between Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong and Kazakh President Kassym - Jomart Tokayev on August 21 in Hanoi immediately following after an official welcome ceremony held for the latter at the presidential palace the same day.
During talks, President Thuong hailed the tremendous achievements made by the State and people of Kazakhstan which have been recorded in maintaining political stability and socio-economic development, while also affirming that the Vietnamese side always places great importance on the traditional friendship with Kazakhstan, viewing it as a leading important partner in Central Asia.
The Kazakh President showed his elation at the first official visit to the country and highly appreciated the Vietnamese innovation path along with important achievements made in socio-economic development, thereby raising its reputation within the international arena.
He also affirmed that the Kazakh side always treasures the strong traditional friendship between the two countries, whilst viewing Vietnam as one of its main priority partners in the Asia-Pacific region.
The two State leaders held an in-depth discussion on directions to foster bilateral ties, whilst agreeing on a wide range of specific measures which can improve co-operative efficiency.
Host and guest therefore affirmed the importance of intensifying the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones, effectively implementing existing collaboration mechanisms between ministries and sectors, enabling localities to enhance understanding, trust, and creating greater motivation for multifaceted ties between the two countries.
The two sides agreed to continue to boost closer links and support each other at multilateral forums, especially the UN, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
The country remains ready to serve as a bridge for Kazakhstan to strengthen linkages with partners in Southeast Asia, while Kazakhstan will serve a bridge for the Vietnamese to strengthen co-operation with Central Asian nations, both leaders said.
The two State leaders applauded the positive progress made in economic, trade, and investment co-operation, including the effective implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), of which Kazakhstan has been a member since 2016. However, there remains plenty of room and potential for further ties, they added.
President Thuong requested that Kazakhstan support early negotiations to upgrade the Free Trade Agreement in order to meet the requirements of reality and promptly create further opportunities for trade exchanges between the two nations.
The President of Kazakhstan said he hopes that the two sides would work closely to swiftly achieve the US$1.5 billion target in bilateral trade turnover and support the promotion of co-operation between the two sides in connecting logistics, transportation, and agriculture.
He also proposed the establishment of the Vietnam - Kazakhstan Business Council to strengthen business ties between the two countries.
The two sides expressed their desire to step up investment links by enhancing information exchanges on investment environment and opportunities, thereby creating favourable conditions for enterprises of the two countries to access each other's markets.
This should be done alongside researching the possibility of establishing joint ventures in fields of potential and demand such as textiles and garments, Halal food processing, seafood, and canned goods to supply the Central Asian market.
The two leaders consented to expand co-operation to potential fields such as transportation, education and training, culture, sports, tourism, finance, banking, and high technology.
They therefore welcomed the opening of a direct flight between the two in October, 2022, outlining their belief that the two countries' signing of a bilateral visa exemption agreement for ordinary passport holders and a Memorandum of Understanding on co-operation in the field of tourism as part of the occasion will contribute to bolstering tourism and people-to-people exchanges between the two nations.
During the course of talks, they also compared notes on regional and international issues of shared concern and discussed views on resolving disputes in the region and in the world by peaceful means on the basis of international law.
President Thuong therefore thanked his Kazakh counterpart for paying attention to and offering optimal conditions for the Vietnamese community to live, study, and work stably in the host nation.
On this occasion, Kazakh President Tokayev cordially invited President Thuong to pay an official visit to Kazakhstan soon, with his invitation being graciously accepted.
After talks both leaders witnessed the signing of a number of co-operation documents, including an agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons, an agreement on visa exemption for ordinary passport holders, a joint action plan to promote economic - trade cooperation in the 2023 to 2025 period, a Memorandum of Understanding on tourism cooperation, and a Memorandum of Understanding between Vietnam Television (VTV) and Agency Khabar.
