Vietnam and Turkey should work harder to boost bilateral ties as they see great potential for cooperation in economics, education and training, science and technology.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung made the statement while receiving outgoing Turkish Ambassador Ates Oktem in Hanoi on May 17.

The Government leader spoke highly of the Ambassador’s contributions to developing the Vietnam-Turkish friendship and cooperation in all fields during his term of office.

He expressed his wish that whatever position he holds in the future, Ates Oktem will continue contributions to fostering the two countries’ relationship, especially in economics, trade and investment.

For his part, the Turkish Ambassador said that during his term of office, relations between Vietnam and Turkey developed strongly, with two-way trade reaching 850 million USD in 2010.

The two sides are completing the signing of investment encouragement and double taxation avoidance agreements, which are expected to further boost trade and investment between Vietnam and Turkey , he added.

On the same day, State President Nguyen Minh Triet and Deputy Prime Minister cum Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem received the Turkish Ambassador./.