VIETNAM, October 15 - HÀ NỘI– Vice President Võ Thị Ánh Xuân and a delegation of Việt Nam left Kazakhstan on October 14, concluding their trip to Kazakhstan to attend the 6th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA6) and bilateral activities in the country.

Earlier the same day, the Vice President met with Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov, who said Kazakhstan wished to promote cooperation with Việt Nam in all spheres, contributing to consolidating mutual trust and respect.

He also thanked Việt Nam for its participation and contributions to the success of CICA6.

For her part, Xuân affirmed that Việt Nam always attached importance to the traditional friendship with Kazakhstan, highlighting positive developments of the bilateral political and diplomatic ties over the past time.

She suggested the two sides step up delegation exchange and continue their mutual support at multilateral forums and international organisations, especially the United Nations and CICA.

Host and guest noted with pleasure the progress in economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, especially since the free trade agreement between Việt Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union took effect in 2016.

They agreed to review and upgrade the signed bilateral agreements, soon negotiate and amend some contents of the above-said FTA to further facilitate trade and investment, and promote collaboration in agriculture.

Both expressed their belief that the opening of direct flights between the two countries would help to boost cooperation in potential areas, especially logistics, tourism, and education-training.

PM Smailov also suggested railway and sea route connectivity between the two countries, making Kazakhstan an entrepot for Vietnamese goods to Europe.

On this occasion, Xuân conveyed wishes, regards and invitation of Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính to his Kazakhstan counterpart to visit Việt Nam at an appropriate time. - VNA/VNS