Vietnam eyes EV partnership with Turkey

By Viet Tuan November 30, 2023 | 10:25 pm PT

Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets with Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Fatih Kacir in Ankara on Nov. 30, 2023. Photo by Nhat Bac

Turkey and Vietnam have agreed to boost the partnership between their private sectors in manufacturing electric vehicles at a recent high-level meeting.

Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Fatih Kacir on Thursday agreed with a proposal by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to boost their EV industry collaboration making use of the advantages both have.

Other areas that Turkey wanted to partner in Vietnam are industrial parks and high technology, which are "full of potential," Kacir told Chinh who is in Ankara on an official visit.

Automation and security are other areas they could work on, he added.

Chinh said Turkey, which has over 100 high-tech industrial parks, could invest in Vietnam and share its experience in managing them.

Also on Thursday he met with Minister of Finance Mehmet Simsek and suggested that the two sides should negotiate a free trade agreement and that Turkey should remove trade measures against imports from Vietnam.

He wanted Turkey to recognize Vietnam as a market economy and help with fiscal and monetary policymaking. He agreed that less trade measures should be imposed.

Simsek spoke about the importance of increasing trade and having favorable visa policies.

Turkish banks plan to open offices in Vietnam, he said, adding that two countries should start negotiating a free trade agreement at a suitable time.