Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son made several recommendations for Vietnam – Turkey ties to grow substantively while talking over the phone with Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan on March 3.
Son affirmed that Turkey is a leading partner of Vietnam in the Middle East, and noted with satisfaction the recent progress in bilateral relations, especially since Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to Turkey in November 2023, with economic cooperation being a bright spot.
Bilateral trade reached 2.4 billion USD in 2024, rising 10% from the previous year. Meanwhile, Turkey remains the largest Middle Eastern investor in Vietnam, with its investment totalling 1.74 billion USD last year, surging 75% from 2023, he said.
To ensure increasingly substantive and effective development of bilateral ties, Son suggested the two sides work together to carry out cooperation priorities, including upgrading the Vietnam – Turkey relationship; promoting mutual visits at all levels, especially high-level ones; coordinating with and supporting each other at international organisations; and improving the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation mechanisms such as the Joint Committee and the Political Consultation.
He also took this occasion to convey PM Chinh’s invitation to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to pay an official visit to Vietnam and attend the 4th Summit of the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G).
For his part, Fidan stated Turkey attaches importance to the relationship with Vietnam – its leading partner in Southeast Asia.
Turkey is promoting efforts to soon complete the upgrade of ties with Vietnam in the time ahead, he said, adding it also wishes to enhance cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Highly valuing Vietnam’s efforts to organise the P4G Summit, the minister expressed his belief that the event will be a success, demonstrating the country’s strong commitment to joining hands with the international community to foster green growth, fight climate change, and develop sustainably.
