Turkish President Abdullah Gul praised Vietnam ’s position in ASEAN while meeting with Vietnam ’s Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan in Istanbul on June 9.

President Gul said he believed that holding the ASEAN Chair will enable Vietnam to help Turkey forge closer ties with the association and join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.

He congratulated Vietnam on becoming a member of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and thanked the country for it its proposals at the recent CICA summit in Istanbul.

He asked Vice President Doan to convey an invitation from him to President Nguyen Minh Triet to visit Turkey in the near future.

Vice President Doan congratulated Turkey for the success of the third CICA summit and for taking over the CICA Chair. She said she hoped that Turkey will do well in its role as CICA Chair and develop the forum further in the future, which will contribute to ensuring peace, stability and cooperation in Asia and the rest of the world.

Regarding bilateral cooperation, Vice President Doan said that there is a lot of potential for cooperation between the two countries, especially in economics, trade, education and tourism and that Vietnam is keen to expand cooperation between the two countries. The signing of agreements on avoiding double taxation and encouraging and protecting investments in the future will also be crucial for strengthening friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

 (CPV/VNA)