2017 marked a historic milestone in the two countries’ trade, as two-way trade hit 3.2 billion USD, making Vietnam the second-largest partner of Türkiye in ASEAN, after Malaysia.
The COVID-19 pandemic partly affected the two countries’ trade activities, with two-way trade reaching about 1.65 billion USD in 2022. However, it remains a bright spot in their relations.
In the first four months of 2023, Vietnamese exports to Türkiye stood at 642 million USD, a year-on-year increase of nearly 30%.
Regarding the potential for further cooperation, Do Son Hai, Vietnamese Ambassador to Türkiye underlined the distinct possibility of expanding and improving the effectiveness of trade cooperation.
One favourable factor for the strengthening of bilateral relations is that national flag carrier Turkish Airlines, which was the 7th largest carrier in the world in 2022, now conducts direct flights from Istanbul to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with seven flights a week. The two countries aim to increase two-way trade to 4 billion USD by 2025.
Along with economic cooperation, historical similarities will also help strengthen Vietnam-Türkiye relations in the future.
In particular, Türkiye greatly appreciates Vietnam’s sending an earthquake rescue teams and emergency aid of 100,000 USD to Türkiye, considering this to be testament to the friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance of the two sides in difficult times./.
