Strengthening Alliance: Top Official's Journey to Enhance Vietnam-Kazakhstan Collaboration

Rewritten Article:

Hey there! Here's the lowdown on Party General Secretary Tô Lâm's upcoming visit to Kazakhstan!

Kazakhstan, the land of endless skies and abundant resources, is the first stop on General Secretary Lâm's tour from May 5 to 12. This trip marks the first state visit by a top Vietnamese leader in 13 years and the unprecedented first by a General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam.

The visit, scheduled from May 5-7, comes at a time when Vietnam and Kazakhstan are enjoys afortunate period of positive development in their traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation. This trip promises to strengthen and deepen the bonds between the two nations even further.

A Strong Political-Diplomatic Tie

Vietnam and Kazakhstan have a rich history dating back to the establishment of diplomatic relations on June 29, 1992. Since then, the friendship between the two countries has been steadily growing. High-level visits between the two nations have been a consistent part of their relationship, with notable visits from the Vietnamese side including those by Prime Minister Võ Văn Kiệt, Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng twice, President Trương Tấn Sang, and National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyewn Thị Kim Ngân. From the Kazakhstan side, visits include those by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Speaker of the Mazhilis Zhakupov Kabibolla Kabenovich, Speaker Nurlan Nigmatulin, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi, and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in an official visit in August 2023.

The two countries have also maintained bilateral cooperation mechanisms such as Deputy Foreign Minister-level political consultations and the Việt Nam-Kazakhstan Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Trade, and Scientific-Technical Cooperation, which holds alternating meetings.

When it comes to multilateral forums, both Vietnam and Kazakhstan closely coordinate on international organizations, especially the United Nations. Vietnam supports Kazakhstan's membership in the Far East Group of the International Atomic Energy Agency, while Kazakhstan supports Vietnam's candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council for the 2023-25 term, the Executive Board of UNESCO, and the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2022-2026).

Booming Economic-Trade Ties

Kazakhstan is Vietnam's second-largest trade partner in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), following Russia. Meanwhile, Vietnam is Kazakhstan's second-largest trade partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), after Singapore. Bilateral trade turnover has been increasing steadily over the last few years, reaching $349.2 million in 2020, $622.8 million in 2021, $584 million in 2022, and $401.8 million in 2023. It is expected to double to $800 million by 2024.

Vietnam mainly exports to Kazakhstan mobile phones and components, machinery, computers, electronics, agricultural products like rice, cashew nuts, and pepper, seafood, canned fruits and vegetables, clothing, and footwear. In return, Vietnam imports raw materials like unprocessed lead and zinc, stainless steel, and non-ferrous metal products.

According to Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Vietnam Kanat Tumysh, the two countries - both signatories to the Vietnam-EAEU Free Trade Agreement, effective since October 2016 - have many advantages for economic collaboration. For instance, Vietnamese firms can leverage Kazakhstan's role as a gateway to the wider Central Asian region to export fruits and vegetables during their harsh winters. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan can export its competitively-priced beef and lamb to Vietnam, where these products are typically more expensive. The development of a new rail transport corridor, the "Middle Corridor", connecting Việt Nam with China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and ultimately Europe may further enhance these prospects.

Party General Secretary Tô Lâm. -VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

Partnership Opportunities

General Secretary Lâm's historic trip represents the consistent policy of the Vietnamese Party and State to strengthen traditional friendships and comprehensive cooperation with nations in Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and Eastern Europe. The visit is expected to give a boost to bilateral cooperation and generate more partnership opportunities, with plans to elevate their relationship to a comprehensive partnership level during a future visit in May 2025[3]. In addition to bolstering economic and trade ties, new accords are expected in defense, security, finance, science, culture, and tourism[5]. Kazakhstan’s projected GDP growth to $450 billion by 2029 and investor-friendly reforms present opportunities for Vietnamese businesses in sectors like AI and digital tech[5].

Kazakhstan can serve as a strategic gateway for Vietnam to deepen economic and transport cooperation with the EAEU and Central Asia, expanding access to European markets[5][4]. The visit underscores a strategic pivot to deepen ties amid global economic uncertainties, leveraging Kazakhstan's reforms and Vietnam's dynamic growth[5][3]. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting new chapter in Vietnam-Kazakhstan relations! 🚀🚀🚀

The upcoming visit of Party General Secretary Tô Lâm to Kazakhstan will focus on strengthening the political-diplomatic tie between the two nations.
The friendship between Vietnam and Kazakhstan has been steadily growing since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992.
High-level visits between the two nations have been a consistent part of their relationship, with scholars enjoying numerous opportunities for exchanges.
Vietnam and Kazakhstan closely coordinate on international organizations, such as the United Nations, and support each other's candidacies in various forums.
Kazakhstan is Vietnam's second-largest trade partner in the Eurasian Economic Union, and Vietnam is Kazakhstan's second-largest trade partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The development of a new rail transport corridor, the "Middle Corridor", connecting Vietnam with China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and ultimately Europe, may further enhance economic and trade ties.
Plans are being made to elevate the relationship between Vietnam and Kazakhstan to a comprehensive partnership level during a future visit in 2025.
New accords are expected in defense, security, finance, science, culture, and tourism during the upcoming visit.
Kazakhstan’s projected GDP growth to $450 billion by 2029 and investor-friendly reforms present opportunities for Vietnamese businesses in sectors like AI and digital tech.
The visit underscores a strategic pivot to deepen ties amid global economic uncertainties, leveraging Kazakhstan's reforms and Vietnam's dynamic growth, and will undoubtedly bring more positive developments in general news.