Kazakhstan and Vietnam agreed to promote two-way trade to US$1.5 billion, concluded five cooperative deals including the visa exemption accord, and considered setting up joint ventures during the three-day visit of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Vietnam.

The Kazakh leader held talks with Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong on Monday, one day after his arrival in Vietnam for an official visit at the invitation of the host.

The trip marked his first to Vietnam since he took office four years ago and also the first official Vietnam visit by a Kazakh president over the past 12 years. 

The two presidents discussed steps to boost bilateral trade from $600 million in 2022 to $1.5 billion in the coming time, and affirmed there is still room and potential for the two countries to further promote economic, trade, and investment cooperation.

The two leaders reached consensus on considering the possibility of establishing joint ventures in potential fields, such as textiles and garments, Halal food processing, seafood, canned goods, and others.

President Thuong affirmed that Vietnam is ready to be a bridge for Kazakhstan to strengthen cooperation with countries in Southeast Asia, while President Tokayev affirmed that Kazakhstan will assist Vietnam in connecting with Central Asian countries.

The Vietnamese president asked Kazakhstan to support early negotiations to upgrade the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) to promptly meet the actual requirements and create new opportunities for trade exchanges between the two countries.

The host and guest affirmed the two countries will expand cooperation to such fields as transportation, education and training, culture, sports, tourism, finance, banking, and hi-tech.

Both presidents highly appreciated the opening of a direct flight route between Vietnam and Kazakhstan in October 2022.

The two heads of state also exchanged views on a number of international and regional issues of mutual concern and shared views on resolving disputes in the region and the world by peaceful means on the basis of peace and international law.

President Tokayev invited his Vietnamese counterpart to pay an official visit to Kazakhstan soon, and President Thuong gladly accepted the invitation.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of an agreement on visa exemption for ordinary passport holders, whereby valid national passport holders of each country with a validity of at least six months will be exempted from visas to enter, exit, transit, and temporarily stay in the territory of the other country for a period of time not exceeding 30 days from the date of entry and not exceeding 90 days for each 180-day period.

If citizens plan to stay longer than this period of time, they will have to apply for a visa, according to the Vietnam Government Portal.

The four other documents signed on the occasion included a joint action plan to promote economic and trade cooperation in the 2023-25 period, and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in tourism, the agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons, and an MoU between Vietnam Television (VTV) and Agency Khabar Company.

At his meeting with Vietnam’s Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong on Monday, President Tokayev told Trong that Kazakhstan cherishes its long-standing traditional friendship relations with Vietnam and considers Vietnam its key partner in Southeast Asia.

Trong told his guest the Party, state, and people of Vietnam always remember and are grateful for the valuable support that the Kazakh people have given to its previous struggle for national independence as well as its cause of national construction and development today.

The same day also saw the talks between President Tokayev and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh as well as Chairman of the lawmaking National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue.

PM Chinh suggested that Kazakhstan continue to create favorable conditions for Vietnam’s strong products, such as agricultural products, seafood, textiles and furniture, to access the Kazakh market.

He also asked that the two sides coordinate and promote the revision of the FTA between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), to which Kazakhstan is a party, to further facilitate bilateral trade and investment ties. 

The Kazakh leader agreed with the suggestions by PM Chinh and added he would direct the Kazakh government to focus on cooperation in transport, logistics, tourism, finance, and digital transformation.

Meanwhile, President Tokayev and Chairman Hue conferred on objectives of economic reforms in the coming time as well as measures to boost comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

Tokayev invited Hue to visit Kazakhstan and added a delegation of Kazakh parliamentarians will attend the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians hosted by Vietnam in September this year.   

Hue accepted the invitation with pleasure and also invited the presidents of the Senate and the Lower House of Kazakhstan to visit Vietnam at convenient times.

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