Traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Kazakhstan

The visit of General Secretary To Lam and his wife and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to Kazakhstan contributed to promoting the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Kazakhstan in many fields.

National flags of Vietnam and Kazakhstan. Source: Vietnam+

At the invitation of President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jormat Tokayev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko, General Secretary To Lam and his wife, together with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, paid a state visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan, a state visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan, an official visit to the Russian Federation and attended the 80th anniversary of Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War, and a state visit to the Republic of Belarus from May 5 to 12, 2025.

Kazakhstan is the first stop of General Secretary To Lam on his visit to European countries (from May 5 to 7, 2025).

General Secretary To Lam and his wife. Photo: Thong Nhat/VNA

This is the first state visit to Kazakhstan by a key leader of our country in the past 13 years and the first time at the General Secretary level of Vietnam has visited Kazakhstan.

The visit took place in the context of the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Kazakhstan developing positively. The visit contributed to promoting the development of the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Kazakhstan in many fields.

Political and diplomatic relations develop well.

Vietnam and the Republic of Kazakhstan established diplomatic relations on June 29, 1992. Since then, the traditional good friendship between the two countries has been continuously strengthened and developed.

In July 2008, the Vietnamese Embassy in Kazakhstan officially opened. On March 30, 2015, Kazakhstan opened its Embassy in Vietnam.

The two countries have exchanged high-level delegations. On the Vietnamese side, there were visits to Kazakhstan by: Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet (June 1994); Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (September 2009); President Truong Tan Sang (April 2012); Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung visited and attended the official signing ceremony of the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (May 2015); National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (October 2017); Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan attended the 6th Summit on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA-6) hosted by Kazakhstan (October 2022); Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh paid a working visit (September 2023); Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on the occasion of attending the BRICS Leaders' Meeting in Kazan (Russian Federation) (October 23, 2024); Politburo member and Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics Nguyen Xuan Thang paid a working visit to Kazakhstan (November 2024)...

On the Kazakhstan side, there were visits to Vietnam by: President Nursultan Nazarbayev (October 2011); Chairman of the House of Representatives Zhakupov Kabibolla Kabenovich and attendance at the 132nd Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly (IPU-132) in Hanoi (March 2015); Chairman of the House of Representatives Nurlan Nigmatulin (November 2019); Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tileuberdi (August 2022); President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on an official visit (August 2023)...

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during his official visit to Vietnam on the afternoon of August 21, 2023, in Hanoi. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

The two countries maintain existing cooperation mechanisms such as: Political consultation at the Deputy Foreign Minister level (direct consultations were conducted in 2005; 2007; 2009; 2011; 2012; 2017; November 2020 in the form of online meetings) and Regional Department Heads (June 2013); rotating meeting mechanism of the Vietnam-Kazakhstan Intergovernmental Committee on economic-trade and scientific-technological cooperation, most recently the 11th session held in Kazakhstan in May 2024.

The two countries have closely coordinated at multilateral forums and international organizations, especially at the United Nations. Kazakhstan has supported Vietnam's candidacy for the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term, the UNESCO Executive Board and the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage for the 2022-2026 term. Vietnam has supported Kazakhstan in joining the Far East Group of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)...

Economic and trade cooperation maintains positive growth momentum

Kazakhstan is currently Vietnam's second largest trading partner in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) (after Russia). Conversely, in ASEAN, Vietnam is currently Kazakhstan's second largest trading partner (after Singapore).

Bilateral trade turnover reached 349.2 million USD (2020); 622.8 million USD (2021); 584 million USD (2022); 401.8 million USD in 2023; 800 million USD in 2024 (up 99% over the same period).

Vietnam mainly exports to Kazakhstan items such as phones and components, machinery, equipment, computers, electronics, agricultural products (rice, cashew nuts, pepper), seafood, canned vegetables, clothing, and footwear; and imports from Kazakhstan raw materials such as unprocessed lead, zinc, iron, stainless steel, and non-ferrous metal products.

President To Lam (now General Secretary To Lam) received Kazakhstan's Ambassador to Vietnam Kanat Tumysh on the afternoon of July 16, 2024. Photo: Nhan Sang/VNA

According to Kazakhstan Ambassador to Vietnam Kanat Tumysh, both countries are members of the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Free Trade Agreement, which took effect in October 2016, so there are many advantages for economic and trade cooperation. For example, Vietnamese enterprises can increase the supply of fruits and vegetables to the large Central Asian market through Kazakhstan because nearly half of the year is a harsh winter, making it difficult to grow crops in this region.

On the other hand, Kazakhstan can provide a source of beef and lamb, which are expensive in Vietnam but are quite abundant and cheaper in Kazakhstan. This can be done even easier if a railway route, called the “Middle Corridor”, is formed, connecting Vietnam with China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkey and to European countries.

In addition, through Kazakhstan, Vietnam can further promote cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union, opening up economic and transportation cooperation in the Central Asian region, thereby accessing the European market.

Regarding investment, Kazakhstan has 6 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of more than 500,000 USD. Meanwhile, Vietnam has 2 instant noodle production enterprises owned by Vietnamese people in Kazakhstan.

Cooperation between the two countries in the fields of culture, tourism, education and training, transportation, energy, local cooperation and people-to-people exchange has also been maintained and strengthened.

Regarding tourism cooperation, since September 2019, Kazakhstan has applied a unilateral visa exemption for Vietnamese citizens for a period of 30 days. The two sides have operated the first official direct flight in November 2022 and are increasingly opening more direct flights connecting famous tourist cities of the two countries.

Presenting flowers and gifts to the first passengers arriving in Da Nang on the direct flight from Kazakhstan at noon on April 2, 2025. (Photo: Tran Le Lam/VNA)

The number of tourists from Kazakhstan to Vietnam has increased sharply: in 2023 it will be more than 62,500, in 2024 it will be 150,000 tourists.

Regarding educational cooperation, the two sides signed an agreement on educational cooperation (September 15, 2009). Every year, the two sides exchange on the basis of the equivalent of 3 university scholarships.

Regarding cultural cooperation, the two sides organized Cultural Days in each other's territories (September 2012 and June 2013); the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism organized Vietnam Day in Kazakhstan (August 2017) within the framework of EXPO-2017 Astana; the Vietnam Symphony Orchestra visited Kazakhstan to celebrate the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries (during the trip to attend the international music competition held in Kazakhstan from June 15 to 25, 2017).

In 2021, the Embassy of Kazakhstan also organized the Kazakhstan Film Days in Da Nang. In 2023, the two countries will implement the exchange of music lecturers...

In the field of scientific research, Kazakhstan wishes to cooperate with Vietnamese scientists as well as scientists from other Asian countries to learn about the history, origin, and intermingling of Asian peoples and cultures.

The Vietnamese community in Kazakhstan currently has about 50 people, most of whom have permanent residence cards and are living and working stably. A small number of Vietnamese are international students and university lecturers who come to teach under fixed-term contracts.

The State visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan by General Secretary To Lam and his wife along with the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation demonstrates the importance and consistent policy of the Party and State of Vietnam in strengthening the friendship and comprehensive cooperation with traditional friendly countries in the Central Asia, South Caucasus and Eastern Europe regions, including Kazakhstan.

The visit contributes to promoting bilateral relations in many fields, opening up new cooperation opportunities and deepening relations between Vietnam and Kazakhstan.

According to Trong Duc (Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/quan-he-huu-nghi-truyen-thong-va-hop-tac-nhieu-mat-viet-nam-kazakhstan-post321523.html