On November 14, 2024, a delegation from Vietnam, headed by a member of the Politbeauro of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the president of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, and chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, Nguyen Xuan Thang, visited the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Welcoming the guests, the director of KazISS, Yerkin Tukumov, noted that today’s meeting provides an opportunity to discuss the prospects for Kazakhstan-Vietnam relations and exchange views on current issues on the bilateral agenda.
“Kazakhstan and Vietnam are countries with many similarities. In recent years, our trade and economic relations have shown steady growth. For example, the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Vietnam in the first half of 2023 reached 610.9 million dollars, increasing 3.5 times compared to the same period last year.
Among ASEAN countries, Vietnam ranks third in terms of population size and GDP based on purchasing power parity (around 1.5 trillion dollars). This highlights the potential for expanding Kazakhstan’s exports,” said Y. Tukumov.
The director of KazISS also reminded that since October 2022, direct air communication between Kazakhstan and Vietnam has been restored, and since May 25 of this year, a visa-free regime has been introduced, allowing citizens of both countries to stay in each other’s territory for up to 30 days.
For his part, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang highlighted the dynamic expansion of cooperation between Kazakhstan and Vietnam.
“Our countries have long-standing good and friendly relations, and there is enormous potential for further development of cooperation, including in the field of expert analysis,” he emphasized.
As part of the event, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics. Y. Tukumov described this as an important step in expanding expert interaction between the two countries and outlined specific proposals in this area.
“We propose to hold a series of online sessions, focusing on specific issues in a Chatham House format. These sessions could involve not only leaders but also researchers to discuss pressing topics such as agricultural industrial development, manufacturing, and opportunities for investment and infrastructure cooperation,” said the director of KazISS.
During the visit of the Vietnamese delegation, a seminar was also held, dedicated to the prospects for economic, trade, and investment cooperation between the two countries, as well as deepening collaboration in education, science, and academic exchanges.
The meeting was attended by leaders of political and governmental bodies, research organizations, and representatives of the academic community from both countries.
