Deputy PM Bülent Arınç was given a copper plaque after he addressed
the Turkey-Vietnam Trade and Investment Forum organized by TUSKON in Hanoi on Tuesday.

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç has called on Turkish businessmen to invest in Vietnam, whose trade volume with Turkey neared $1 billion last year, despite the distance between the two nations.
 
Speaking at the Turkey-Vietnam Trade and Investment Forum organized by the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) in Hanoi yesterday, Arınç drew attention to the fact that Turkey’s trade with Vietnam had increased notably over the past few years, from almost nothing to $857 million in 2010, yet, he underlined, this is not sufficient for the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government.

In 2002, the year the AK Party came to power with a landslide election victory, the trade volume between the two nations was slightly more than $100 million. “Turkey wants to improve its relations with Vietnam in all fields. We have a powerful friendship group in Parliament. Also, we are going to appoint a trade counselor to our embassy in Hanoi. The present level the two countries have reached is significant, but not enough. We should both take initiatives targeting our businessmen, which Turkey is ready to do,” he said.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh addressed participating businesspeople from the two countries at yesterday’s event as well. He said he believes TUSKON’s forum will substantially contribute to improving Turkish-Vietnamese economic relations. Anh underlined that his country provides “enticing” opportunities to foreign investors, particularly in the fields of textiles and agriculture, adding that they are ready to facilitate the work of Turkish businesspeople who want to invest in the Southeast Asian country.

Officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the country boasts the world’s 13th largest population with an estimated 86 million inhabitants. TUSKON Vice President Doğan Kaynak, who was also present at the forum Tuesday, said TUSKON attaches a “particular importance” to Vietnam. “Turkish businessmen can enter other Asian markets via Vietnam. We will organize more intensive business programs in Vietnam in the future,” he said.

As part of his visit on Tuesday, Arınç met Vietnamese Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem and Minister of Information and Communications Le Doan Hop. Earlier in the day, he attended the Turkey-Vietnam Joint Economic and Trade Committee’s (KEK) fifth meeting in Hanoi.

Turkey is willing to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which has 10 member states, including Vietnam. Expressing this willingness, Arınç recalled that official talks with the association started in 2010 and asked Vietnam to facilitate the signing of the desired FTA during his speech at the KEK meeting. Turkey currently has FTAs with 13 nations as well as with members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), a free trade organization comprising four non-EU member European states. The country will put FTAs with three more nations into effect this year.