The first passengers arriving in Da Nang on the direct flight from Kazakhstan are presented with flowers and gifts. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam and Kazakhstan are forging a partnership to serve as mutual gateways to broader markets, with Vietnam eyeing Central Asia and Eastern Europe and Kazakhstan seeking deeper inroads into ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific.

As bilateral trade flourishes, an upcoming state visit to Kazakhstan by Vietnamese Party General Secretary To Lam promises to inject new energy into economic ties.

Sustaining growth

Since the Vietnam - Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement (VN – EAEU FTA) took effect in 2016, trade between the two countries has grown steadily, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

From 2017 to 2021, bilateral trade swelled 28% on annual average. In 2024, it reached 479.1 million USD, a 19.2% increase from the previous year. Vietnam’s exports, including phones and components, computers and electronics, machinery and spare parts, fruits and vegetables, cashew nuts, footwear, and apparel, totalled 408.18 million USD, up 4.4%. Imports from Kazakhstan, including steel, wheat, and cotton, soared to 70.88 million USD, a striking 556.6% surge.

Investment, however, lags behind trade. Kazakhstan has invested in six projects worth 560,000 USD in Vietnam, ranking 111th among 147 countries and territories investing here. Vietnam, for its part, has yet to launch any investments in Kazakhstan.

The MoIT said that apart from the FTA, the two countries are efficiently utilising the Vietnam – Kazakhstan Inter-Governmental Committee on Economic – Trade and Scientific – Technical Cooperation to identify new opportunities. In 2023, Vietnamese Industry and Trade Minister Nguyen Hong Dien and Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Integration Zhumangarin Serik Makashevich signed the 2023–2025 Joint Action Plan to deepen collaboration in trade and investment.

Ample room for collaboration

Vu Ba Phu, Director of the MoIT’s Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE), said the agency recently sealed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kazakhstan’s national trade promotion company QazTrade to smooth the path for business-to-business connections. Kazakh firms are being invited to Vietnam’s major international trade fairs, including Vietnam Expo, Vietnam Foodexpo, and specialised exhibitions brimming with apparel and sourcing opportunities.

On the regulatory front, a representative from the MoIT's Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam reaffirmed that the country’s trade defence law is aligned with World Trade Organisation (WTO) standards, assuring Kazakh investors of their right to fair protection within Vietnam’s legal framework.

Nguyen Van Hoi, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Strategy and Policy for Industry and Trade, said Vietnam’s trade and industrial policies are increasingly open, transparent, and consistent with its international commitments, both bilateral and multilateral.

At the 11th session of the Vietnam – Kazakhstan Inter-Governmental Committee on Economic – Trade and Scientific – Technical Cooperation, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien called for stronger policy consultation and information sharing at all levels, as well as for measures to balance trade and align economic ties with the warm political relationship shared by both nations.

The VN - EAEU FTA, he insisted, is a lever to be pulled, and businesses should be supported to take part in more trade shows, business missions, and investment forums and to capitalise on this FTA.

Looking beyond traditional cooperation areas, Dien envisioned collaboration in foundational industries such as materials, supporting industries, mining, manufacturing, processing, chemicals, energy, and petrochemicals where each country’s strengths can meet the other’s needs. Emerging sectors like green technology, new energy, the digital economy, and e-commerce also offer further potential.

The official also floated the idea of a Kazakhstan business council in Vietnam and a Vietnam trade office in Kazakhstan, with the latter doubling as a hub for Vietnam’s engagement with others in Central Asia, including Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan./.