On Monday, 21 August, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who arrived on his first official visit to Hanoi, held talks with President Vo Van Thuong of Vietnam.
During the talks, prospects for the development of cooperation in trade and economic, investment, energy, transport and logistics, agro-industrial, cultural and humanitarian spheres were discussed, the press service of the President of Kazakhstan reports.
Tokayev noted that the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Vietnam reached $600 million in the first half of 2023. He said that the goal is to increase this figure to $1 billion by the end of the year.
The presidents confirmed their commitment to creating favorable conditions for businesses from both countries to access each other’s markets. They also agreed to explore the possibility of using effective mechanisms to ensure mutually beneficial trade, including measures to increase container traffic between Kazakhstan and Vietnam.
On the sidelines of the visit, Kazakhstan and Vietnam signed over ten documents, mainly of an economic nature. An important one was the agreement on the abolition of the visa regime.
The list of signed documents:
- Joint Action Plan for accelerated development of trade and economic cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for 2023-2025;
- Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on exemption from visa requirements of holders of national passports;
- Memorandum of cooperation in the field of tourism between the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;
- Memorandum of Cooperation between JSC “Trade Policy Center “QazTrade” and the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency VietTrade;
- Memorandum of Cooperation between the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Investment Agency of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;
- Memorandum of Understanding on the development of e-commerce and postal activities between Kazpost JSC and Viet Post Corporation;
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan and JSC Vietjet Aviation;
- Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of investments in oil and gas projects between JSC NC KazMunayGas and Sovico Group;
- Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of transport and logistics infrastructure development between Kazakhstan Temir Zholy JSC and Sovico Group;
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Crystal Bay Tourism Group JSC;
- Cooperation Agreement between Microtech DFS Vietnam Company Limited and Vela Corporation;
- Memorandum of Understanding between JSC “Agency “Khabar” and Vietnam Television.
The signed documents are a testament to the strong commitment of Kazakhstan and Vietnam to strengthening and expanding bilateral cooperation in all areas. The abolition of the visa regime for citizens of the two countries will significantly simplify travel and business contacts, and will also contribute to the further growth of trade and investment. ///nCa, 22 August 2023 [photo credit – Akorda]
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