On the occasion of the National Day of the Republic of Türkiye on Saturday (29 October 2022), Việt Nam News presents an article written by Ambassador of Türkiye 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 99th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Türkiye. I would like to present our warmest greetings to the Vietnamese people as well as their leaders.

Today, we celebrate the 99th anniversary of our Republic with great joy and pride. After almost ten decades of progress thanks to the founding principles set forth by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk - the founder and first President of the Republic of Türkiye - our country now stands focused on stability with a developing economy.

The geographical proximity of Türkiye to three different continents provides a unique advantage to enrich and prosper our nation in cultural, historical, and economic ways. In 2021, the highest export figure in the history of our Republic was attained with a value of USD225.4 billion. This trend in our exports was maintained in the first seven months of 2022 by reaching USD144.4 billion, an increase of 19%. The Turkish economy, at the same time, grew by 11% in 2021, while it grew by 7.3% in the first quarter of 2022.

Bosphorus and Rumeli Fortress, Istanbul. Photo Courtesy of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye

Since the day it was founded, Türkiye has been at the forefront of establishing and maintaining regional and international prosperity, stability and peace. In line with this purpose, Türkiye has been actively taking place in peacekeeping and mediatory efforts, which have come into prominence more than ever as the world is currently dealing with multiple security issues and asymmetric threats, by following the motto “Peace at home, peace in the World” of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

As being one of the values stemming from its history and culture, Türkiye also has a strong tradition of humanitarian aid with the belief that sharing enriches. Regardless of race, religion, language, or gender, Türkiye contributes to international efforts by supporting countries that are in a difficult situation due to several causes like natural disasters, war, poverty, and social clashes.

Dear readers,

Next year, we will commemorate the 100th anniversary of our Republic, as well as the 45th anniversary of the establishment of Türkiye’s diplomatic ties with Vietnam. Türkiye and Vietnam have been steadily developing their friendly and cooperative relations since 1978. Over the years, we witnessed the strengthening and enrichment of our relations in different areas. Our trade volume reached more than 2 billion dollars in the last decade. In addition, there is an increase in the number of Turkish companies which are interested in the Vietnamese market. Last year, one of our companies operating in the field of fast-moving consumer products initiated its operations in Vietnam with a sizeable investment. We foresee that Turkish companies, including the ones in technology and white goods sectors, will enhance their presence in the Vietnamese market in the coming period.

Furthermore, Turkish Airlines, our national flag carrier that has been contributing to the development of our economic and commercial relations, continued its activities in Vietnam without a break even during the pandemic period. I believe the increasing passenger and cargo flights will continue to have a positive impact on consolidating relations between the two countries.

During the past two years, the world has suffered the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which demonstrated the significance of working in solidarity to overcome challenging situations. In such difficult times, our humble, yet crucial mutual efforts with Vietnam were the manifestation of our potential future endeavors.

Cappadocia, Nevşehir. Photo Courtesy of the Governorship of Nevşehir, Türkiye

Türkiye and Việt Nam’s educational, social, cultural and tourism-related ties have also been growing. Each year, we provide to an increasing number of Vietnamese students the opportunity to study in our country with Türkiye Scholarships. This year alone, seven Vietnamese students were granted scholarships. Our inter-institutional cooperation with Vietnamese authorities is also maintained with a number of education and training programmes. Besides that, social programs run by Türkiye aim to support the well-being of friendly Vietnamese people.

We recently observed that Turkish TV series broadcasted in Vietnam gained popularity among the public, which paves the way for bringing our nations closer, enhancing the interest in between the two countries and enabling tourism development. To this end, the cultural events to be organized next year both in Việt Nam and in Türkiye, in honor of the establishment of our relations, will further contribute to the strengthening of the bonds of Turkish and Vietnamese people.

Türkiye and Việt Nam have evolving friendly relations both bilaterally and in the international fora with significant potential. Our Sectoral Dialogue Partnership in ASEAN, as well as our common roles with Vietnam in other international platforms create opportunities for furthering our ties and enjoying cooperation in multiple areas based on our common interests and objectives. I sincerely believe that deepening of our relations will bear fruit in various fields in the coming period. VNS