Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (R) welcomes Speaker of the Kazakh Parliament's Lower House Kabibulla Dzhakupov at the inauguration of the Kazakh Embassy in Vietnam on March 30 (Photo: VNA) Bilateral relations between Vietnam and Kazakhstan should be taken to the next level, Vietnamese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Nguyen Van Hoa told Vietnam News Agency correspondents on April 27.
The Ambassador highlighted the fact that in the past few years Vietnam and Kazakhstan have supported each other at the international and regional forums, adding that two-way trade in 2014 reached over 213 million USD, doubling the previous year’s figure.
He underscored that numerous agreements, especially the Vietnam- Eurasian Economic Union free trade agreement, will open up new opportunities to develop economic relations between two countries. Kazakhstan is a member of the Union.
However, limitations exist in investment and cultural exchange between two nations, according to the diplomat. Hoa said that Vietnamese enterprises should be encouraged to invest more in agricultural products, food, garments and electronic products, which are favoured in Kazakh markets.
He recommended that the tourism sector needs to coordinate with Kazakh partners to draw more tourists from central Asia to Vietnam.
He especially stressed the need for cooperation to exploit oil and minerals in Kazakhstan, deeming it as a key potential area of collaboration between the two sides to meet the energy demand of Vietnam, which will become an industrial country post-2020.
Hoa praised contributions made by the Vietnamese expatriate community in Kazakhstan to consolidate and develop the traditional relations.-VNA
