To mark the National Day of the Republic of Turkey on Friday (October 29), Việt Nam News presents an article written by the Ambassador of Turkey to Việt Nam, Haldun Tekneci.

It is a great pleasure for me to address the readers of Việt Nam News on the occasion of the 98th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey. I would like to present our warmest greetings to the Vietnamese people, while also conveying our most sincere congratulations to the recently elected Leaders and Government members of Việt Nam.

Today, we celebrate the 98th anniversary of our Republic with great joy and pride. After more than nine decades of progress thanks to the founding principles set forth by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkey now stands focused on stability with a developing economy.

Bodrum Castle in the port city of Bodrum, a tourist attraction in Turkey. Photo courtesy of the embassy

In 2023, the Republic of Turkey will commemorate its centennial anniversary and the country is taking concrete steps in order to attain its development goals.

In September 2021 alone, Turkey’s monthly exports reached US$20.7 billion, while yearly exports hit $212.2 billion -- the highest monthly and annual figures in recent history. Moreover, IMF raised its GDP growth forecast for Turkey to 9 per cent from 5.8 per cent in its latest World Economic Outlook October 2021 report.

Owing to its unique strategic location at the junction of Europe, Asia and Africa, our engagement with multi-lateralisation covers a 360-degree view representing a broad geographic range. Our inclusion in the MIKTA platform, as well our status as Sectoral Dialogue Partner in the ASEAN are only two examples of our global outreach. On that point, it is worth mentioning that Turkey has become a Sectoral Dialogue Partner with ASEAN, thanks to, among other factors, the valuable support of Việt Nam.

Turkey and Việt Nam have enjoyed friendly and constructive bilateral relations ever since the establishment of their diplomatic ties in 1978. At a multilateral scale as well, the two countries continue to extend support to each other.

Our economic and commercial dealings play a noticeable role in our partnership. Within more than a decade, our trade volume has increased from $155 million to more than $1.5 billion despite the recent downturn in the global economy due to the ongoing pandemic.

We have so far made good progress in completing the contractual basis for our economic ties, but more work remains to be done. We mutually aim at increasing our bilateral trade volume from the current level and in this vein, I firmly believe that the initiation of formal negotiations over a Free Trade Agreement in the near future will be an important step for ensuring a strong, balanced and enduring trade partnership.

This year also marks the 43rd anniversary of the establishment of Turkey’s diplomatic ties with Việt Nam.

Việt Nam is on a path to further modernisation through comprehensive and peaceful development and I hold the view that the two countries can work together to learn and benefit from their best practices to overcome the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Availing of this opportunity, I wholeheartedly congratulate the Vietnamese Government and frontline health workers for their successful, comprehensive and untiring fight against COVID-19 so far.

We are pleased that the bonds of friendship linking Turkey and Việt Nam are improving on a positive agenda. In addition to official channels of communications, people-to-people contacts keep growing and diversifying. We should mutually continue to promote reciprocal cultural, tourism and business exchanges.

As part of our Embassy’s efforts to this end, we organised an online Turkish Language Course of Yunus Emre Institute on the occasion of “2021-The Special Year of Yunus Emre and Turkish Language”. Over 120 students from Việt Nam registered for the programme to learn Turkish in May 2021.

A panoramic view of Cappadocia during sunset.  Photo Courtesy of  the embassy

Geography has bestowed major advantages upon both countries. As an influential member of ASEAN, Việt Nam occupies an important place in the realisation of Turkey’s desire to deepen and widen its ties with ASEAN members. In return, Turkey, as a result of its unique location between three continents, could help Việt Nam expand its access to a wide array of regions including the Balkans, the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Middle East and North Africa.

I trust that Turkish-Vietnamese ties and cooperation will yield more results in future. The relations between our two countries will grow even stronger in time and the Turkish Embassy will continue to work closely with the Vietnamese authorities and institutions in order to fully unlock the potential for the mutual benefit of both countries. VNS