President Vo Van Thuong and President of Kazakhstan witnessed the signing ceremony of visa exemption agreement for ordinary passport holders.
During a meeting with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on August 21, President Vo Van Thuong affirmed that Vietnam considers Kazakhstan a leading important partner in the Central Asian region, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Kazakh President 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 ratified by Kazakhstan in June. Citizens of each country, if holding a valid national passport with at least 6 months validity, are exempt from visa requirements to enter, exit, transit, and stay in the territory of the other country for no more than 30 days from the time of entry and no more than 90 days in any 180-day period. If citizens plan to stay longer than this, they must apply for a visa.
The two leaders also witnessed the signing of the Agreement on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism, and other documents on promoting economic, trade, and media cooperation.
President Vo Van Thuong and President Tokayev shook hands before their talks at the Presidential Palace on the morning of August 21. Photo: Giang Huy
President Vo Van Thuong and President Tokayev agreed that the two countries will continue to coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums. Vietnam is ready to be a bridge for Kazakhstan to strengthen cooperation with Southeast Asian countries and Kazakhstan will be a bridge for Vietnam to strengthen cooperation with Central Asian countries.
President Vo Van Thuong asked Kazakhstan to support early negotiations to upgrade the Free Trade Agreement to meet practical requirements and promptly create new opportunities for bilateral trade.
The President of Kazakhstan hopes that the two sides will closely coordinate to soon achieve the target of two-way trade turnover of 1.5 billion USD, support promoting cooperation in connecting logistics, transportation, and agriculture services, and propose the establishment of the Vietnam - Kazakhstan Business Council.
The two leaders welcomed the opening of a direct flight between Vietnam and Kazakhstan in October 2022, saying that the signing of the Visa Exemption Agreement and the Memorandum of Understanding on Tourism Cooperation between the two countries will contribute to enhancing tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchange.
The two leaders shared views on resolving regional and global disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law.
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong received President Tokayev at the Party Central Committee Headquarters today. Photo: Giang Huy
On the same day, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong received President Tokayev at the Party Central Committee headquarters, emphasizing that the visit was an important milestone, demonstrating the traditional relationship and the common desire of the two countries to promote further development of the relationship.
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 bilateral relations.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received President Tokayev at the government headquarters today. Photo: Giang Huy
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 much room and potential to complement each other for mutual development.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested that Kazakhstan continue to facilitate Vietnam's key products such as agricultural products, seafood, textiles, and wooden products to access the Kazakhstan market, while the two sides coordinate and promote amendments to 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 areas mentioned by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, focusing on potential areas such as transportation, logistics, culture, tourism, finance, digital transformation, etc.
During the meeting at the National Assembly House this afternoon, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue welcomed the two sides issuing a Joint Statement and signing many cooperation documents in the fields of diplomacy, trade, culture, justice, etc. This is a favorable legal framework to promote traditional friendly cooperation between the two countries in the coming time.
National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue met with President Tokayev at the National Assembly House on the afternoon of August 21. Photo: Giang Huy
Vietnam and Kazakhstan established diplomatic relations on June 29, 1992. Last year, the two countries celebrated the 30th anniversary of the establishment of relations. Bilateral trade turnover in 2022 reached nearly 600 million USD. In the first four months of 2023, bilateral trade reached 124.2 million USD, up 34.5% over the same period in 2022.
In October 2022, a direct flight route between Almaty and Nha Trang was opened. Almaty is a major economic center and a famous tourist destination in the Central Asian country. Two months later, a flight route between Nha Trang and the capital Astana also began to be exploited. Tourists from Kazakhstan to Vietnam reached about 10,000 each year.
Vnexpress.net
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