Prime Minister announces US$500,000 in humanitarian aid to inhabitants in Gaza

President Erdoğan welcomed Prime Minister Pham's visit to Turkey on the occasion of the 45^th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

He affirmed Turkey attaches importance to the multi-faceted cooperation with Viet Nam – a country that occupies an especially important position in Southeast Asia.

Erdoğan appreciated Viet Nam's valuable support and assistance for Turkey to overcome the consequences of the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Southern Turkey last February.

He also spoke highly of the capacity of Viet Nam's search and rescue teams dispatched to help Turkey overcome the consequences of the earthquake.

Prime Minister Pham congratulated Turkey on becoming one of the 20 largest economies in the world and hailed its contributions to maintain peace, cooperation and development in the Middle East and the world as well.

The two leaders agreed to boost cooperation between the Communist Party of Viet Nam and the Justice and Development Party of Turkey (AKP) as well as between the Governments and Parliaments of the two countries.

The pair took the occasion to compare notes on regional and international issues of shared concern, underlining the importance of compliance with international law to ensure peace, security and development in the two regions and on the globe.

Regarding economic cooperation, President Erdoğan expressed his wish to step up trade and investment cooperation with Viet Nam in order to raise the two-way trade to US$5 billion in the near future.

Erdoğan suggested the two countries expand cooperation in tourism, healthcare, and energy, soon convene the 8^th meeting of the Viet Nam-Turkey Inter-governmental Committee, and the 5^th political consultation between the two foreign ministries in the first half of 2024.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Pham urged Turkey to facilitate the import of Vietnamese goods such as footwear, farm produce, aquatic products, and welcomed Turkish businesses to invest in development of hydrogen, infrastructure, and logistics in Viet Nam.

The two sides agreed to accelerate cooperation in other fronts such as Halal industry, agriculture, education and training, and people-to-people exchanges.

Prime Minister Pham announced Viet Nam's donation of US$500,000 through the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to provide humanitarian aid to the Palestinian inhabitants in the Gaza Strip.

He took the occasion to convey President Vo Van Thuong's invitation to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to pay an oficial visit to Viet Nam next year. President Erdoğan accepted the invitation with pleasure./.