Turkey and Vietnam look to double trade, deepen defense ties

Turkey's prime minister said on Aug. 23 he wants to double trade volume with Vietnam to $4 billion in the next three years as his country seeks to boost cooperation with the Southeast Asian country.

Binali Yıldırım was making his first visit to Vietnam as prime minister, accompanied by a large business delegation.

"I believe that our bilateral trade volume will reach $4 billion by 2020 and that's doable," Yıldırım told reporters during a briefing with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc. 

The bilateral trade currently stands at $2 billion a year.

Phuc told reporters the two committed to creating favorable conditions for businesses from both countries to promote mutual trade and investment.

"There are special areas where our mutual cooperation can immediately be initiated, primarily the defense industry," Yıldırım added.

Details on defense cooperation were not immediately disclosed, but Vietnam has in recently years sought to modernize its military with the purchase of six submarines and new jet fighters from Russia, its traditional weapons supplier, in the face of Chinese assertiveness in pressing Beijing's territorial claims in disputed South China Sea waters.

China claims most of the South China Sea, which is believed to sit on rich natural resources and occupies important international sea lanes.

The two prime ministers stressed that disputes should be resolved through peaceful means in line with international law.