Turkish premier visits Vietnam

By Mumin Altas and Tevfik Durul

HANOI (AA) - Binali Yildirim said on Wednesday that the first official visit by a Turkish prime minister to Vietnam will usher in a "new era" in bilateral relations.

During a joint news conference in Hanoi with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Yildirim said he was pleased to be the first Turkish prime minister to visit Vietnam. In 2018, Turkey and Vietnam will celebrate 40 years of diplomatic ties.

"Turkey is also a developing and dynamic country like Vietnam, so there are similarities between the two countries," he said, adding he hoped the trade volume between Vietnam and Turkey would reach $4 billion by 2020.

Three agreements on economy, customs and standards were signed between Turkey and Vietnam during Yildirim's visit.

"We have conducted very fruitful negotiations with the prime minister and his delegation in which we addressed and evaluated our opportunities for cooperation in all areas, from transportation to education, maritime to trade and defense to business," he said.

"We have made necessary arrangements for the prevention of double taxation, mutual encouragement and facilitation of investments and we will continue to work on their implementation," he added.

Nguyen said that he was pleased by Yildirim's visit.

"We have confirmed that the two countries are like-minded on the developments of business associations in various fields," he said. "I believe that business and investment relations between Vietnam and Turkey will further develop."

Yildirim is scheduled to return to Turkey on Thursday.