The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam aims to develop economic, trade and investment cooperation with the five Central Asian countries (C5) - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The ministries considered that Vietnam’s cooperation with the C5 remains modest, despite its great potential. Meanwhile, Central Asia is becoming a region of geopolitical and geo-economic importance in the world, and many large economies such as the US, China, Russia, Turkey and the EU are developing their cooperation with it.

The ministry said creating and implementing comprehensive solutions to promote economic trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and C5 countries is of great importance, Vietnam Plus reported on Thursday, February 22.

In a recent notice, Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade asked the country's relevant departments to implement measures including improving the legal framework for trade and economic cooperation with C5 countries, developing an economic and trade development project, holding meetings at the ministerial and deputy ministerial levels, and intensifying the work of mechanisms of intergovernmental committees with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan currently do not have an intergovernmental committee mechanism with Vietnam. In this context, Hanoi concluded that it was necessary to explore the mechanism of economic and trade consultations to agree on a framework for bilateral cooperation.

The source also reports that the Ministry of Information Technology of Vietnam will coordinate its activities with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and related institutions in order to conclude agreements in the field of plant and animal inspection, as well as mutual recognition of product quality certificates to support Vietnam's export activities to C5 countries.

The ministry will provide information about C5 countries to Vietnamese businesses and help them find suitable and secure payment methods to trade with partners in the region.

In addition, it was decided to organize annual visits of Vietnamese delegations to promote trade and investment with visits to large and prestigious fairs, exhibitions and seminars held in C5 countries. Vietnam will intensify the promotion of Vietnamese industries, brands and products to C5 enterprises and consumers.

Meanwhile, continuing cargo transportation between Vietnam and the UK, Turkmenistan Airlines will open passenger flights to Ho Chi Minh City in early March.

Now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's dynamic economic engine, will be connected by Turkmenistan Airlines to other international flight routes to Europe, Russia and Turkey, through Turkmenistan's capital Ashgabat.

According to the latest Turkmenistan Airlines flight schedule, the airline's first flight to Ho Chi Minh City from Ashgabat will land at Tan Son Nhat Airport at 3 a.m. local time on March 6, 2024. Passenger tickets can be purchased on the website of the airline turkmenistanairlines.tm. Moreover, until the end of March there are discounts.

Turkmenistan Airlines identifies Vietnam as a potential market that needs to be exploited to expand its international network and promote trade and tourism relations between the two countries.

In May 2023, Turkmenistan Airlines began operating cargo services between Vietnam and the UK via Turkmenistan, an international service provided by TT Meridian.

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