National Assembly (NA) Chairman Tran Thanh Man’s official visit to Uzbekistan is the first and the highest-level visit by a Vietnamese parliamentary leader since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1992, aiming to strengthen political trust and lay a foundation for boosting multifaceted cooperation and elevating the bilateral relations to new heights.

Traditional friendship witnesses fruitful development

Vietnam and Uzbekistan established diplomatic relations on January 17, 1992. The two countries share a strong traditional friendship. Despite geographical distance, the two countries’ people have always maintained close ties.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia, Uzbekistan, and Armenia Dang Minh Khoi, although Vietnam and Uzbekistan officially established diplomatic ties in 1992, their connection dates back further. Uzbekistan was once a republic of the Soviet Union, with which Vietnam established diplomatic relations on January 30, 1950. Therefore, it can be said that Vietnam’s ties with Uzbekistan have spanned 75 years.

The traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Uzbekistan have grown stronger and more effective, yielding positive outcomes. The two sides have regularly exchanged delegations at all levels.

The two sides has maintained a deputy foreign ministerial-level political consultation mechanism, with the most recent 6th session held in Uzbekistan on March 3-4, 2025. They have also established an intergovernmental committee on economic-trade and scientific-technological cooperation, which has convened seven sessions so far.

Parliamentary cooperation between Vietnam and Uzbekistan has been steadily strengthened, with regular engagements at multilateral forums and conferences. In 2023, Uzbekistan’s Parliament established a friendship parliamentary group with Vietnam and hoped that the Vietnamese NA will soon form a Vietnam-Uzbekistan friendship parliamentary group to enhance exchanges and coordination between the two legislatures and lawmakers, thus fostering deeper and more effective bilateral relations.

The two countries have maintained coordination at international and regional forums, including the UN, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA). Uzbekistan has supported Vietnam’s candidacies for many international bodies, such as the UN Human Rights Council (2014-2016), the World Heritage Committee (2013-2017, and 2023-2027), the UNESCO Executive Board (2021-2025), the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member (2020-2021), and the Postal Operations Council (POC) of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) (2022-2025).

Huge room for fostering economic- trade cooperation

The Vietnam-Uzbekistan trade cooperation has seen positive growth but remains modest compared to the two countries' potential. In 2024, two-way trade hit 202 million USD, surging by 26.5% compared to 2023.

Vietnam currently has five active investment projects in Uzbekistan, with a total investment of 4.4 million USD, focusing on animal and fish feed production, aquaculture and livestock farming, and silk production and sericulture.

Agricultural cooperation remains a strength in the bilateral relations, with significant progress in recent years, largely driven by Vietnamese entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan, who have opened restaurants, invested in livestock farming and silk production. The Uzbekistan side has shown interest in developing freshwater and rice-field fish farming and it has called on Vietnam to share experience in this field.

According to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang, there is large room for Vietnam and Uzbekistan to strengthen cooperation for mutual development. To boost trade, investment, and tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, the two countries should strengthen transport connectivity, including railways, roads, sea routes, and aviation.

Vietnam can increase exports of its key products, such as agricultural products, seafood, textiles, footwear, and electronics to Uzbekistan, using it as a transit point for trade to other countries via East-West and North-South transport corridors. The two sides also have opportunities to expand cooperation in education - training, science - technology, and other promising areas such as digital technology, clean energy, and new materials.

Regarding education and training cooperation, since 2004, Uzbekistan has granted 2-3 exchange scholarships annually, mainly through the Vietnam National University, Hanoi and the Ministry of National Defence. In return, the Vietnamese language department at the Oriental University of Uzbekistan currently has many students studying Vietnamese.

Cultural exchanges between the two countries have been regularly promoted. Vietnam has organised Vietnam Culture Days in Uzbekistan and participated in the "Melodies of the East" music festival in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan has also held Uzbekistan Culture Days in Hanoi and the central province of Thanh Hoa.

Tourism cooperation between the two countries has been steadily strengthened. In 2021, a direct flight from Tashkent of Uzbekistan to Phu Quoc was launched to facilitate tourism activities between the two nations, followed by the introduction of a flight from Tashkent to Cam Ranh of Vietnam to meet the growing demand for travel from Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries.

Lifting bilateral relations to new heights

Building on the fruitful development of the bilateral relations, NA Chairman Man’s official visit to Uzbekistan marks an important milestone, contributing to elevating the bilateral relations to a new level.

Deputy FM Hang said the visit holds a deep political significance, demonstrating Vietnam’s strong commitment to its traditional friendship with Uzbekistan and its desire to strengthen political trust, laying a foundation for boosting all-around cooperation and lifting the bilateral relations to new heights.

During this trip, the Vietnamese top legislator is expected to meet with Uzbekistan leaders to discuss measures to resolve difficulties and obstacles, and promote economic, trade, and investment cooperation. He is also scheduled to meet with representatives from major Uzbekistan businesses, providing an opportunity for companies from both countries to connect, introduce their markets, and explore investment potential, thereby laying the groundwork for expanding cooperation in processing industry, textiles, energy, transport, and science -technology.

Through this visit, ministries, sectors, localities, and friendship organisations of the two nations will establish direct relations, promote cooperation, and enhance mutual understanding between the people of the two countries.

Khoi revealed that within the framework of this visit, the two countries will organise a business forum, bringing together numerous state-owned and private enterprises to discuss and exchange ideas on specific areas of cooperation. The two sides are planning to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in oil and gas exploration, mining, agriculture, and textiles.

The visit is expected to create a strong impetus to elevate cooperation between Vietnam and Uzbekistan to new heights, Khoi said./.