Ankara (VNA) – A high-ranking delegation of the National Assembly led by Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Hai paid an official visit to Türkiye from September 25 to 29, aiming to further deepen the friendship and wide-ranging cooperation between the two countries.
During the talks with Deputy Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Celal Adan, Hai expressed his delight at paying his first visit to Türkiye, thanking the Turkish parliament for its warm reception.
He congratulated Türkiye on its significant achievements in socio-economic development under its “Century Vision” and affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to strengthening its friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with Türkiye.
For his part, Adan highlighted the progress in bilateral relations, especially since Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to Türkiye in November 2023.
Congratulating Vietnam on its social, economic, and diplomatic accomplishments, he stressed that Hai’s visit would not only reinforce ties between the two legislatures but also contribute to the friendship and cooperation between the two countries. He affirmed that the Turkish parliament stands ready to strengthen cooperation with its Vietnamese National Assembly.
The two sides agreed to keep intensifying political trust and work towards elevating bilateral ties to a new partnership level, providing fresh momentum for cooperation. They highlighted the need to expand collaboration in trade – investment, defence – security, and education while promoting people-to-people exchanges, cultural connections, and locality-to-locality ties in areas such as tourism and cultural heritage preservation.
Vietnam affirmed its readiness to serve as a gateway for Türkiye to access ASEAN markets while Türkiye pledged to act as a bridge for Vietnamese goods to enter the Middle East, Europe, and Africa.
The officials also stressed the importance of parliamentary diplomacy, agreeing to increase exchanges and meetings between lawmakers, strengthen cooperation among specialised committees, and share experiences in digital transformation, administrative reform, and lawmaking. They pledged to further promote the role of parliamentary friendship groups, and boost consultation and coordination at multilateral parliamentary forums, including the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA), and the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership Meeting (ASEP).
Hai proposed negotiations be launched on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), calling on Türkiye to soon recognise Vietnam’s full market economy status and to limit the initiation of trade remedy investigations and anti-dumping measures against Vietnamese exports. He also suggested Turkish parliamentarians support favourable policies for the Vietnamese community in Türkiye to better integrate into local society.
In response, Adan welcomed these proposals and promised to forward them to relevant Turkish authorities for consideration.
At a meeting with Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, the Vietnamese official suggested high priority be given to bolstering collaboration, especially in investment, trade, security, national defence and the denfence industry, and locality-to-locality links.
Yilmaz noted that Vietnam is now Türkiye’s second-largest trading partner in ASEAN. He highlighted practical cooperation results, including his country’s issuance of e-visas for Vietnamese citizens and Turkish companies' participation in Vietnam’s Long Thanh International Airport project. Defence cooperation has also advanced, with key milestones such as the signing of a bilateral defence agreement.
The two leaders recognised the considerable untapped potential of bilateral relations. They also underscored the need to step up all-level mutual visits and maintain cooperation mechanisms such as the Joint Economic and Trade Committee and political consultations.
On behalf of Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, Hai conveyed an invitation to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit Vietnam at an early date, and also extended invitations to Vice President Yilmaz and Deputy Speaker Adan to visit Vietnam.
Earlier, the Vice Chairman met with staff of the Vietnamese Embassy and representatives of the Vietnamese community in Türkiye, conveying warm regards from Party and State leaders.
He lauded the community's solidarity and contributions, reaffirming that overseas Vietnamese remain an inseparable part of the nation. He encouraged them to maintain unity and establish Vietnamese associations in Türkiye to strengthen mutual support.
During the visit, the Vietnamese delegation also held working sessions with the President of Türkiye’s Defence Industry Agency, the President of the Court of Accounts, the Deputy Governor of Istanbul, leaders of the Türkiye – Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group, and the Honorary Consul of Vietnam in Istanbul.
They met with the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) and leading Turkish businesses, visited the mausoleum and museum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk – the country’s first President, and toured the Turkish Parliament building. The delegation also visited Ambarli Port, one of the four largest seaports in Türkiye./.
