President Truong Tan Sang made suggestions for more parliamentary and people-to-people diplomacy activities while receiving Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Hanoi on March 18.

He also said both nations should further promote cooperation across trade and tourism.

Cavusoglu, who is on a Vietnam visit at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh from March 17-19, affirmed that the government of Turkey attaches importance to ties with Vietnam.

He conveyed Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s invitation to the Vietnamese President to visit Turkey.

At their talks earlier the same day, Deputy Prime Minister Minh and FM Cavusoglu vowed to coordinate at international forums and organisations, especially the United Nations.

Economically, they stated intention to lift two-way trade to 3 billion USD by 2016, which, they said, means boosting exports of goods in their strengths and facilitating business operations in each country.

The host asked the Turkish side to lift trade defence measures on several Vietnamese exports.

Both sides committed to efforts to broadening collaboration in potential fields such as labour, tourism, agriculture, and education-training.

Stressing the need to thoroughly prepare for the seventh meeting of the Inter-governmental Committee, they vowed to fine-tune legal framework for bilateral partnership via stepping up negotiations for the signing of a number of agreements, including a customs agreement and memoranda of understanding on forestry and water resource management.

They also talked regional and global issues of shared concern.-VNA