Viet Nam and Kazakhstan bring friendship closer to everyday life

The new October routes offer two return flights a week on each route, helping people meet and businesses find partners. New flights, rising trade and investment in green transport are bringing Viet Nam and Kazakhstan closer. The Strategic Partnership relation is opening new opportunities for businesses and travellers.

Having presented my credentials to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on 19 August 2026, I see these connections as a practical way to turn our countries’ mutual trust into benefits for their people.

A friendship looking forward

Our ties reach back to President Ho Chi Minh’s visit to Kazakhstan in 1959. During his August 2023 visit to Viet Nam, President Tokayev presented General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong with an album commemorating that journey, a reminder of our shared history.

Diplomatic relations followed on 29 June 1992. General Secretary To Lam’s state visit in May 2025 brought a new milestone: a Strategic Partnership. Both countries value peace, independence, sovereignty, the UN Charter and peaceful dispute settlement. Cooperation in international forums and exchanges on reform and integration reinforce that foundation.

Trade gathers pace

Bilateral goods trade reached about USD 564.8 million in the first nine months of 2026, up 44.7 per cent year on year, according to Viet Nam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade. Vietnamese exports rose 35.8 per cent to USD 463.7 million, while imports from Kazakhstan grew 106.5 per cent to USD 101.1 million.

Electronics lead Viet Nam’s exports, with room for agricultural products, processed foods and consumer goods to grow. Viet Nam offers Kazakhstan access to Southeast Asia; Kazakhstan helps connect Viet Nam with Central Asia.

Wheat shows how these strengths can complement each other. Citing Kazakhstan’s Government, Kazinform reported exports of more than 15,000 tonnes to Viet Nam in 2025, following an eight-year pause. Multimodal transport helps cut costs and delivery times, pointing to wider prospects in food and logistics.

The Viet Nam–Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement, in force since October 2016, provides a platform for growth. Making full use of it requires support on tariff preferences, rules of origin and quality standards, and closer coordination on sanitary and phytosanitary measures, payments and transport.

Investment takes new forms

Six projects involving Vietnamese companies are under way, with Vingroup, Sovico Group, Crystal Bay Tourism Group and Mareven Food Central among the participants. ROX Group is also interested in exploring investment opportunities in Kazakhstan’s energy, infrastructure and real estate sectors. Kusto Group’s operations in Viet Nam add to this two-way investment relationship.

Following a 2025 agreement, the Vietjet Qazaqstan brand is being developed from Qazaq Air. The airline unveiled its new livery and introduced services in Astana in February 2026, opening opportunities for staff training, management exchanges and improved passenger services.

On 23 June 2026, Green SM launched its green mobility service in Almaty. Such projects show what Vietnamese technology-enabled services can offer. Their lasting value depends on meeting local needs, creating jobs and contributing to communities.

Finance offers another avenue. The two countries regularly exchange delegations to share experience in finance, banking, innovation and entrepreneurship via connection with the Astana International Financial Centre, the central bank, Astana Hub and Samruk-Kazyna Fund.

Closer ties between people

In 2025, Viet Nam had welcomed nearly 200,000 Kazakh visitors. Visa exemptions and more convenient flights support further growth. Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, Da Nang and heritage destinations await Kazakh visitors, while Kazakhstan’s landscapes, culture and hospitality offer much for Vietnamese travellers to discover.

Tourism businesses can encourage travel in both directions through familiarisation visits, suitable products and destination promotion. Scholarships, student exchanges and business internships build skills and lasting friendships.

The Vietnamese community in Kazakhstan and Kazakh friends with ties to Viet Nam help sustain these links. The Embassy will work with them, local authorities and educational institutions to support exchanges and cultural preservation, while helping businesses find information and partners.

As the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations approaches in 2027, my priority is to listen and turn shared ambitions into practical cooperation. The success of our Strategic Partnership will be felt in the opportunities it brings to people’s work, studies and daily lives.

H.E. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Le,

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to the Republic of Kazakhstan