National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn (right) presents a commemorative gift to Việt Nam's Honorary Consul in Istanbul, Ali Tezolmez. — VNA/VNS Photo

ISTANBUL — Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Trần Thanh Mẫn hosted a reception for Việt Nam’s Honorary Consul in Istanbul Ali Tezolmez on April 17 afternoon (local time), as part of his working visit to Türkiye.

The Vietnamese leader acknowledged and highly valued Tezolmez’s active contributions to the friendship and cooperation between Việt Nam and Türkiye, particularly in Istanbul – an important economic, commercial, and international exchange hub.

He expressed his gratitude for the Honorary Consul’s support to the Vietnamese community living, studying, and working in the area, as well as his efforts in connecting businesses and promoting investment, trade, and tourism links between the two countries. These, he noted, are practical contributions that help further deepen bilateral ties, especially as the two countries aim to elevate their relationship in the time to come.

Chairman Mẫn reaffirmed that Việt Nam always treasures its relations with Türkiye, one of its leading trade and investment partners in the region.

He noted that during this visit, he had held meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Speaker of the Grand National Assembly Numan Kurtulmus, and engaged with businesses at a policy seminar on enhancing Việt Nam-Türkiye cooperation. At these events, leaders of the two countries set a target of raising bilateral trade turnover to US$4 billion in the coming years.

To help realise this goal, the NA leader hoped that in his capacity as Honorary Consul, Tezolmez would continue leveraging his role and credibility to advance bilateral cooperation priorities, including promoting negotiations on and the signing of a Việt Nam-Türkiye free trade agreement, advocating Türkiye’s early recognition of Việt Nam as a full market economy, reducing trade barriers, and facilitating Vietnamese goods’ access to Türkiye’s distribution and retail systems.

Chairman Mẫn called on the Honorary Consul in Istanbul to continue supporting trade promotion; popularising Việt Nam’s image, people, and attractive investment and business climate, connecting businesses and encouraging Turkish firms to seek new investment opportunities in Việt Nam, while setting up partnership ties between localities in the two countries, including Istanbul and a major city of Việt Nam.

The top legislator expressed his hope that the Honorary Consul would continue supporting the Vietnamese community in Türkiye in general and in Istanbul in particular, helping them settle their lives and integrate well into the host society.

Tezolmez said Chairman Mẫn’s working visit to Türkiye would provide fresh momentum for bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, investment and culture.

He noted that Việt Nam and Türkiye share many similarities as both nations had undergone struggles for national independence, preserved long-standing cultural traditions, and attached importance to family values.

Emphasising the strong progress in the bilateral relations across multiple sectors, the Honorary Consul said cooperation could be broadened into new areas where both sides hold advantages, alongside enhancing people-to-people exchanges and links between localities.

Tezolmez also affirmed his continued commitment to supporting bilateral cooperation and development, contributing to the further deepening of the traditional friendship between Việt Nam and Türkiye. — VNA/VNS