At the talks, which took place following a welcome ceremony for the Kazakh leader the same day, Thuong spoke highly of achievements Kazakhstan has recorded in politics and socio-economic development.
Vietnam always attaches importance to the traditional friendship with Kazakhstan, regarding the country as a leading important partner in Central Asia, the host leader affirmed.
Tokayev lauded Vietnam’s reform policy as well as its socio-economic performance and its improving prestige in the international arena, saying the Kazakh State always treasures the long-standing friendship with Vietnam and considers the country one of the most important partners in Asia-Pacific.
The two leaders agreed on many specific measures to deepen the bilateral ties, and shared their views on regional and international issues of shared concern.
Both affirmed the importance of all-level delegation exchanges, saying the two sides have effectively put in place existing cooperation mechanisms as well as those between ministries, agencies and localities to enhance mutual understanding and trust, and create momentum for multifaceted collaboration.
Host and guest consented to maintain close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums, especially the United Nations and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
Vietnam stands ready to serve as a bridge for Kazakhstan to foster cooperation with other Southeast Asian countries, while Kazakhstan will help Vietnam step up collaboration with other countries in Central Asia.
The leaders rejoiced at the positive developments in economic, trade and investment cooperation, including the effective implementation of a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) of which Kazakhstan is a member.
However, they noted ample room and potential remain for Vietnam and Kazakhstan to boost their cooperation.
President Thuong proposed that Kazakhstan support the launch of negotiations for the upgrade of the free trade agreement to meet the requirements of the reality and create more new opportunities for bilateral trade.
The Kazakh President said he hopes the two sides will work closely together to reach the target of 1.5 billion USD in two-way trade. He affirmed the strong support of bilateral cooperation in logistics connections, transportation and agriculture. He suggested the establishment of a Vietnam-Kazakhstan Business Council to promote collaboration among businesses of both sides.
The two sides shared a hope to bolster investment cooperation by strengthening the exchange of information on the investment environment and providing favourable conditions for businesses of the two sides to access each other’s market. The two sides should consider the possibility of establishing joint ventures in the fields of strength and demand such as garment-textiles, Halal food processing, seafood and canned food to supply the Central Asia market, they agreed.
They concurred to expand partnership to other potential areas such as transportation, education-training, culture, sports, tourism, finance, banking, and high technology. The two leaders welcomed the opening of a direct air route between Vietnam and Kazakhstan in October 2022. They expressed belief that the signing of a bilateral visa exemption agreement for passport holders and a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of tourism on this occasion will contribute to enhancing tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
At the talks, the two Presidents discussed a number of regional and international issues of common concern, and shared the viewpoints on the settlement of disputes in the region and the world through peaceful measures on the basis of international law.
President Thuong thanked the Kazakh President and State for giving favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live, study and work stably in Kazakhstan.
President Tokayev took the occasion to invite President Thuong to visit his country at a future time that works for both sides. President Thuong accepted the invitation with pleasure.
Following the talks, the two leader witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements, including the agreement on the transfer of persons sentenced to imprisonment, and the agreement on visa exemption for popular passport holders. They also discussed a joint action plan to promote economic-trade cooperation in the 2023-2025 period, an MOU on cooperation in the field of tourism, and one between Vietnam Television (VTV) and Agency Khabar, a major media outlet in Kazakhstan./.
