State President Lương Cường (right) and Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler at their meeting on September 11 in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — State President Lương Cường hosted a reception on Thursday for Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler, who is on a working visit to Việt Nam.

During the meeting, the Vietnamese State leader expressed his belief that the Turkish delegation’s trip will help step up the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries in general, and defence cooperation in particular.

Highlighting the recent progress in the bilateral cooperation, he affirmed that Việt Nam always attaches importance to strengthening its friendship with Türkiye for the benefit of their people, as well as for peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

The two sides should step up delegation exchanges, particularly at the high level and among ministries, sectors, and localities, while further promoting economic, investment, and trade cooperation in areas where they have strengths and can complement each other, he said.

He suggested the two countries’ defence ministries deepen ties based on the signed defence cooperation agreement and contents agreed upon during the defence ministers’ talks. The host leader affirmed that the Vietnamese State will create the best possible conditions for expanding defence relations in line with the demands and capacity of each nation.

President Cường took the occasion to extend an invitation to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to pay an official visit to Việt Nam at a convenient time.

For his part, Minister Guler expressed his honour to visit Việt Nam, congratulated the country on its 80th National Day (September 2), and conveyed President Erdogan’s greetings and best wishes to President Cường.

The Turkish official stated that his country always considers Việt Nam an important partner in the Asia-Pacific and wishes to see stronger bilateral cooperation. He stressed that Türkiye is ready to share technology and contribute to Việt Nam's defence modernisation efforts.

He called on Việt Nam's support for his country to expand cooperation with ASEAN, while strengthening defence ties and fostering bilateral relations in general. — VNA/VNS