NA Chairwoman arrives in Turkey for MSEAP 3

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan is welcomed at the Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul

During the October 7-12 working trip, the NA leader will attend the third Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian Countries’ Parliaments (MSEAP 3) and visit Turkey at the invitation of Chairman of the State Duma of Russia Vyacheslav Volodin and Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea Moon Hee-sang who are co-chairs of MSEAP and Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Binali Yildirim.

Welcoming NA Chairwoman Ngan and her entourage at the Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul were Vietnamese Ambassador to Turkey Pham Anh Tuan and Vice Governor of Istanbul Bahattin Atci.

MSEAP is a Eurasian parliamentary cooperation mechanism initiated by the Chairman of the State Duma of Russia and the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. The annual meeting offers a chance for legislative bodies in the region to coordinate for action and improve the role of parliamentary diplomacy. The final document of MSEAP is the Joint Statement signed by heads of the participating delegations.

Vietnam took part in its first edition in Russia in 2016 and the second meeting in the RoK in 2017. This year’s event will convene in Antalya, Turkey under the theme “Economic Cooperation, Environment and Sustainable Development in Eurasia.”

At MSEAP 3, the NA Chairwoman will deliver a speed at the general debate while other members of the Vietnamese delegation will take part in other activities within the framework of the meeting.

Vietnam’s presence at the event shows its active and responsible engagement in multilateral parliamentary diplomacy and continues promoting its role as a player in regional and global parliamentary cooperation mechanisms.

Following MSEAP 3, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will begin an official visit to Turkey. This is the first visit made by a top legislator of Vietnam and also the highest-level visit to Turkey.

During the visit, the top Vietnamese legislator will hold talks with her Turkish counterpart Binali Yildirim and meet with senior leaders of the host country, as well as attend a Vietnam-Turkey business and investment seminar which is expected to draw nearly 30 Vietnamese businesses and about 100 Turkish ones.

The visit is of great significance as it aims to continue consolidating and strengthening Vietnam’s friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Turkey in the context of the two countries celebrating the 40th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2018. It also marks a new milestone in the relationship between the two legislatures.

Since the two countries set up their diplomatic relations on June 7, 1978, their ties have seen decent progress with the exchange of a number of high-level visits, notably the visit of Deputy NA Chairman Nguyen Duc Kien to Turkey in February 2011 and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim’s visit to Vietnam in August last year.

Turkey backs the stance of Vietnam and ASEAN countries on the settlement of the East Sea disputes by peaceful means and via dialogue and respect for international law. It shows its support for Vietnam’s bid to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021.

Turkey is now Vietnam’s leading trade partner in the Middle East. In 2017, two-way trade exceeded US$2.1 billion, of which Vietnam’s exports were valued at US$1.9 billion. In the first half of 2018, the figure was US$970 million with US$843 million worth of exports from Vietnam.

Turkey has been a gateway for Vietnamese key products like rice, rubber, tea, clothing, footwear, electronics, handicrafts and more to enter the Middle East and European Union markets. Meanwhile, Turkey exported to Vietnam steel, building materials, cotton, chemicals and auto parts.

Turkey currently operates 15 FDI projects worth a total of US$704 million in Vietnam, making it the 26th largest foreign investor in the Southeast Asian country.

In June 2016, national flag carrier Turkish Airlines launched direct flights from Istanbul to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.