Prime Minister and his wife depart for an official visit to Türkiye

On the afternoon of November 28, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh , his wife and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation departed for an official visit to Turkey, at the invitation of the Government of the Republic of Turkey.

This activity of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh took place from November 28 to 30, marking the first time a Prime Minister of the Vietnamese Government paid an official visit to Turkey.

Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet hopes that the visit will contribute to strengthening political trust and creating new momentum and breakthroughs for Vietnam's cooperation with Turkey in all fields, from economics, trade, investment, to new areas of cooperation such as innovation, science, technology, energy, etc.

Thủ tướng cùng Phu nhân lên đường thăm chính thức Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ - 1 — Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife Le Thi Bich Tran (Photo: Doan Bac).

Türkiye is the world's 19th largest economy, according to the International Monetary Fund in 2023.

With its geographical location connecting the two continents of Asia and Europe and its growing position and influence, Türkiye is the gateway for goods from other countries to penetrate the Middle Eastern and Southern European markets.

Vietnam and Türkiye established diplomatic relations in 1978. The two countries regularly support each other at multilateral forums.

During the earthquake disaster that occurred in the Southeast of Türkiye (February 2023), the Vietnamese Government provided 100,000 USD in aid and sent 2 rescue teams to help Türkiye overcome the consequences.

Thủ tướng cùng Phu nhân lên đường thăm chính thức Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ - 2 — Turkish Ambassador to Vietnam Haldun Tekneci sees off the Prime Minister and his wife at Noi Bai Airport (Photo: Doan Bac).

Bilateral trade turnover in 2022 is expected to reach over 2 billion USD, of which Vietnam will export 1.6 billion USD. Türkiye is imposing anti-dumping duties on a number of Vietnamese products such as rubber, mobile phones, leather and footwear, etc.

Regarding investment, as of October 2023, Türkiye has 36 valid investment projects, with a total registered capital of 974.3 million USD, ranking 26th out of 143 countries and territories with investment projects in Vietnam.

Notable projects that have been and are being implemented include: Hayat Kimya Company invested 250 million USD to build a factory producing detergents, toilet paper... in Binh Phuoc province; Bora Lastik Company bought shares of Da Nang Rubber Company.

Thủ tướng cùng Phu nhân lên đường thăm chính thức Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ - 3 — The Vietnam People's Army's Collapse Rescue Team and the Vietnam People's Army's Search Dog Team assisted in searching for victims of the earthquake in Hatay province, Türkiye in February (Photo: QĐND).

In August 2023, IC Ictas Company (part of IC Holdings Group) of Türkiye, leading the Vietur Consortium, won the bid for the construction and installation of passenger terminal equipment worth VND 35,000 billion of the Long Thanh airport project.

Regarding local cooperation, the Hanoi People's Council and the Ankara capital city government signed a cooperation agreement in September 2011. Turkish localities have repeatedly proposed signing cooperation agreements with some Vietnamese localities, such as: Istanbul - Ho Chi Minh City, Antalya - Nha Trang, Konya - Thua Thien Hue.

The Vietnamese community in Türkiye has about 200 people, scattered in different provinces and cities. The Vietnamese Association has now established a provisional Executive Committee.

Accompanying Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife on the official visit to Türkiye were:

1. Minister, Head of the Government Office Tran Van Son

2. Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung

3. Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dang Quoc Khanh

4. Deputy Minister of National Defense Pham Hoai Nam

5. Deputy Minister of Public Security Le Van Tuyen

6. Deputy Chief of the Central Party Office Bui Van Thach

7. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet

8. Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc

9. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan

10. Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Trinh Thi Thuy

11. Permanent Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Procuracy Nguyen Huy Tien