Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh arrived at Esenboga International Airport in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, on Tuesday evening (local time), starting his official visit to that country through Thursday this week.

PM Chinh, his spouse Le Thi Bich Tran, and his entourage were welcomed at the airport by Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkey Burak Akcapar, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Director General of Protocol Ahmet Cemil Miroğlu, officials from Ankara, Vietnamese Ambassador to Turkey Do Son Hai and his wife, and officials from the Vietnamese Embassy.

This is the first visit to Turkey by a Vietnamese prime minister and is the first high-level delegation exchange between the two countries over the past five years.

The visit marks the 45th anniversary of the Vietnam-Turkey diplomatic ties.

During his two-day stay in Turkey, PM Chinh and his spouse are set to lay flower wreaths and pay tribute to Turkish President Mustafa Kemal Ataturk before attending a welcome ceremony hosted by Turkish Vice-President Cevdet Yilmaz, holding talks with top Turkish officials, and meeting with the press.

The Vietnamese government leader will also receive a number of senior Turkish officials, such as Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek and Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacir, along with leaders of some Turkish businesses including Turkish Airways, IC Holding, and Turkish Aerospace Industries.

After the visit, PM Chinh, his spouse, and his entourage will travel to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to attend the 28th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) at the invitation of the UAE government.

A Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade official told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that PM Chinh's visit is expected to open a new chapter for the friendship and multifaceted cooperation ties between Vietnam and Turkey.

The talks and meetings between the top Vietnamese and Turkish officials will mostly focus on economic and trade cooperation matters.

Vietnam has seen its export turnover in the Turkish market on the rise over the past two years.

In the year to October, bilateral trade inched up 13.6 percent year on year to US$1.9 billion.

Of this, Vietnam exported $1.5 billion worth of products to Turkey, up over 16 percent year on year, while importing $369.2 million worth of items from Turkey, up 8.5 percent.

Turkey remains a potential buyer of many Vietnamese items, such as mobile phones, garments, textile materials, footwear, computers, and others.

Meanwhile, Turkey is a supplier of machines and equipment, fabrics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, auto parts, and household appliances to the Vietnamese market.

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