Turkish PM upbeat about Vietnam ties

By Meryem Goktas

ANKARA (AA) - Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has described his official visit to Vietnam as “late but a good start” in an interview with local media.

In an interview run by the Vietnam News Agency on Thursday Yildirim said the two countries "have comparative advantages to do fruitful things together".

Yildirim is the first Turkish premier to visit Vietnam since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1978. Vietnam and Turkey will jointly celebrate four decades of relations next year.

On trade, Yildirim said Turkey was ready to start negotiating a free-trade agreement and had already decided upon double taxation avoidance and trade facilitation with Vietnam.

The target is to increase bilateral trade to $4 billion by 2020 from the current amount of less than $2 billion, Yildirim said.

He also said daily flights between Turkey and Vietnam had facilitated travel, and recommended that easing visa restrictions could help activities thrive.

On foreign diplomacy, Yildirim said the countries were working together in various bilateral and international areas, adding that Turkey supports Vietnam’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in 2020-2021.

Ankara also asked Vietnam to back Turkey’s effort to become a member of UNESCO's Executive Board for the 2017-2021 term.

Turkey is also willing to offer scholarships for Vietnamese students and take part in student exchange programs, Yildirim added.