General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam (L) has a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York on September 21 (local time). Photo: VNA  

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam had a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York on September 21 (local time) on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81).

The two leaders expressed their delight at the positive development of bilateral relations.

General Secretary and President Lam congratulated Türkiye on becoming a full Dialogue Partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and welcomed and supported the country's closer ties with the association.

He spoke highly of the positive progress in Vietnam-Türkiye relations in recent years, noting that with many similarities and highly complementary economies, the two sides should further strengthen cooperation and play a greater role in promoting peace, stability and sustainable development.

He suggested that the two countries work towards a Joint Statement to elevate their relations to a Strategic Partnership, promote bilateral cooperation and increase contacts and exchanges of delegations, particularly those at the high level.

Vietnam and Türkiye should also work towards the goal of 4 billion USD in bilateral trade by having Türkiye recognise Vietnam's market economy status, open their respective markets to each other and reduce trade barriers, he said.

The top Vietnamese leader also called for expanded cooperation in strategic and promising areas such as defence industry and security, as well as halal food, science, technology, logistics and locality-to-locality cooperation.

For his part, the Turkish President spoke highly of the positive development of bilateral relations, expressing his impression with Vietnam's economic achievements in recent years and its development orientations for the time ahead.

He stressed that both Vietnam and Türkiye play important roles in their respective regions and suggested them strengthen coordination and make responsible contributions to peace efforts and conflict resolution in the Middle East.

The two sides agreed to enhance consultations, coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums, including the United Nations, and to carry forward their role as bridges in order to promote cooperation and multilateralism, uphold international law, and maintain peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region.

They also agreed to step up links between Vietnam and the Group of 20 (G20) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as well as between Türkiye and ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

General Secretary and President Lam took the occasion to invite President Erdogan to visit Vietnam and attend the APEC 2027 Economic Leaders' Meeting as a guest. The Turkish President invited the Vietnamese leader to attend the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31) in Türkiye./.