President Vo Van Thuong and President of Kazakhstan witnessed the signing ceremony of a visa exemption agreement for ordinary passport holders.
At a meeting with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on August 21, President Vo Van Thuong affirmed that Vietnam considers Kazakhstan to be the most important partner in the Central Asia region, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The President of Kazakhstan also emphasized that Vietnam is one of the most priority partners in the Asia-Pacific region.
President Vo Van Thuong and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev witnessed the signing ceremony of the Agreement on visa exemption for ordinary passport holders.
The agreement was approved by Kazakhstan in June. Citizens of each country who possess a valid national passport and are valid for at least 6 months are exempt from visas for entry, exit, transit, and temporary residence in the territory. other country for no more than 30 days from the time of entry and no more than 90 days for each 180-day period. If citizens plan to stay longer than this period, they must apply for a visa.
The two leaders also witnessed the signing ceremony of an Agreement on the transfer of people sentenced to prison, a Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of tourism and other documents on promoting economic, trade and media cooperation.
President Vo Van Thuong and President Tokayev agreed that the two countries will continue to cooperate and support each other at multilateral forums. Vietnam pledges to act as a bridge to help Kazakhstan strengthen cooperation with countries in Southeast Asia, while Kazakhstan will act as a bridge for Vietnam to enhance cooperation with Central Asian countries.
President Vo Van Thuong proposed Kazakhstan’s support in quickly starting negotiations to upgrade the Free Trade Agreement, in order to adapt to the actual situation and create new opportunities for trade cooperation. bilateral trade.
The President of Kazakhstan has expressed his desire to deepen cooperation and share the goal of increasing two-way trade turnover to 1.5 billion USD. He also proposed strengthening cooperation in the fields of logistics, transportation, and agriculture, along with a proposal to establish a Business Council between Vietnam and Kazakhstan.
Both leaders welcomed the opening of direct flights between Vietnam and Kazakhstan in October 2022, and assessed that the signing of the Visa Exemption Agreement and Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of tourism will promote promote cooperation in the tourism industry and exchanges between countries.
The two leaders also shared their views on resolving regional and international conflicts by peaceful means based on the rules of international law.
On the same day, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong received President Tokayev at the Party Central Committee headquarters, emphasizing that the visit is an important milestone, demonstrating the traditional relationship and the common desire of the two countries to promote development relations. more extensive.
President Tokayev affirmed that Kazakhstan considers Vietnam a leading partner in Southeast Asia, attaches importance to promoting relations between Kazakhstan’s political parties and the Communist Party of Vietnam, considering this an important channel in the two countries’ relationship.
During a meeting with President Tokayev at the government headquarters this afternoon, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the two countries’ effective implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), affirming that the two sides still have a lot of space and complementary potential for mutual development.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed that Kazakhstan continue to create favorable conditions for Vietnam’s strong products such as agricultural products, aquatic products, textiles, garments, and wooden furniture to access the Kazakh market, and at the same time the two sides coordinate and promote Amend the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the EAEU to further facilitate bilateral trade and investment.
President Tokayev affirmed that he will direct the Kazakh government to focus on promoting cooperation in the fields mentioned by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, focusing on potential fields such as transportation, logistics, culture, tourism, finance, digital transformation…
During the meeting at the National Assembly House this afternoon, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue welcomed the issuance of a Joint Declaration and the signing of many cooperation documents in the fields of diplomacy, trade, culture, and justice. … This is a favorable legal framework to promote traditional friendly cooperation between the two countries in the coming time.
Vietnam and Kazakhstan established diplomatic relations on June 29, 1992. Last year, the two countries celebrated the 30th anniversary of establishing relations. Bilateral trade turnover in 2022 will reach nearly 600 million USD. In the first four months of 2023, bilateral trade exchange reached 124.2 million USD, an increase of 34.5% over the same period in 2022.
In October 2022, direct flights between Almaty and Nha Trang were opened. Almaty is a major economic center and famous tourist destination of the Central Asian country. Two months later, the flight between Nha Trang and the capital Astana also began to be exploited. Tourists from Kazakhstan to Vietnam reach about 10,000 each year.