On the morning of May 28, comrade Do Trong Hung, member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council received and worked with Mr. Choi Youngsam, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to Vietnam and his colleagues who visited and worked in Thanh Hoa.

Comrade Do Trong Hung, Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council received and worked with Mr. Choi Youngsam, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to Vietnam.

Accompanying the Korean Ambassador to Vietnam were leaders of large Korean organizations, businesses and corporations such as: Samsung Group, Korean Real Estate Group.

Delegates of Thanh Hoa province at the meeting.

Delegates of the Korean Embassy at the meeting.

Attending the reception and working session, on the side of Thanh Hoa province, there were members of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee: Nguyen Van Thi, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Nguyen Tien Hieu, Head of the Management Board of Nghi Son Economic Zone and Industrial Parks; Provincial Party Committee Office and a number of provincial departments and branches; leaders of Thanh Hoa City, Nghi Son Town, Bim Son Town and the districts: Hoang Hoa, Hau Loc, Thach Thanh, Trieu Son, Ngoc Lac, Vinh Loc.

Comrade Do Trong Hung, Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council presented flowers to Mr. Choi Youngsam, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to Vietnam, who visited and worked in Thanh Hoa.

Pleased to receive and work with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Korea to Vietnam at the Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee headquarters, on behalf of the leaders of Thanh Hoa province, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Do Trong Hung sent his best wishes to Mr. Choi Youngsam and his colleagues, and wished the relationship between Vietnam and Korea in general, Thanh Hoa province and the Korean Embassy in particular to grow further.

Comrade Do Trong Hung, member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council spoke at the meeting.

Provincial Party Secretary Do Trong Hung emphasized: Along with the good development in the relationship between the two countries, in recent times, the relationship between Thanh Hoa province and the Korean Embassy has also continued to be maintained. Thanh Hoa province has always received cooperation and support from Korean partners. Currently, Thanh Hoa has 45 projects of Korean investors, accounting for 27% of the total number of FDI projects in the province, the projects have a total registered capital of about 1.68 billion USD, accounting for 14.74% of the total FDI investment capital in the province, typically the Nghi Son II BOT Thermal Power project in joint venture with Japan (Korean investment capital of 1.39 billion USD). In addition, Thanh Hoa province has received ODA capital from the Korean Government to implement 5 ODA projects, with a total ODA capital of 93.5 million USD, focusing mainly on the fields of health, education, transportation, and urban development. Of these, 4 projects have been completed and put into operation; 1 project is under implementation.

In 2023, Thanh Hoa province's export turnover to the Korean market reached 266.37 million USD, accounting for 4.75% of the province's total export turnover. In the first 5 months of 2024, export turnover is estimated at 112.57 million USD, an increase of 6.1% over the same period in 2023.

From 2022 to present, Thanh Hoa province has received 3 non-refundable aid programs, projects, and non-projects not part of official development assistance for Vietnam sponsored by Korean organizations, with a total aid capital of about 394,737 USD (accounting for 2.7% of total aid capital).

Mr. Choi Youngsam and his colleagues at the working session.

Provincial Party Secretary Do Trong Hung stated: Along with the cooperative relationship with partner organizations and Korean investors, Thanh Hoa province established a friendly cooperative relationship in 2013 with Seongnam city (Korea). Since then, the two sides have actively exchanged high-level delegations to develop areas of mutual interest. It is expected that in July 2024, Thanh Hoa province will organize a working delegation led by the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee to visit, work, and promote investment, trade and tourism in Korea. We look forward to receiving support from the Embassy in introducing potential partners to learn about and sign cooperation agreements in the coming time.

During the working session, Provincial Party Secretary Do Trong Hung introduced the potential, strengths as well as the friendliness and hospitality of Thanh Hoa people; outlined the geographical location, natural conditions, cultural traditions, revolutionary history, and outstanding achievements of Thanh Hoa province and emphasized: With the potential and advantages that Thanh Hoa province has, it will be an opportunity to attract investors and large Korean corporations to develop the fields of agriculture, industry, and tourism.

In order to strengthen the cooperative relationship between Thanh Hoa and Korea, Provincial Party Secretary Do Trong Hung proposed that the Korean Embassy; the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KOCHAM); the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam (KCCI) support the introduction of potential Korean investors, businesses and partners to survey and implement investment cooperation activities in Thanh Hoa province; at the same time, support Thanh Hoa province to organize provincial delegations to carry out foreign affairs activities, combining investment, trade and tourism promotion in Korea...

The Korean Embassy in Vietnam supports connections to enhance local cooperation activities with Thanh Hoa province, especially localities that have established cooperative relations with Thanh Hoa province's partners such as Seongnam city; and introduces new localities that are suitable in terms of geographical conditions and have cooperation needs.

The Embassy is also interested in introducing scholarship programs, short-term and long-term training courses for students, officials and civil servants of Thanh Hoa province in the fields of health, education, planning, international relations...; dispatching KOICA volunteers in the fields of: engineering, administration, health, education, social protection... to disadvantaged areas of the province to support skills and improve capacity for localities and units of the province.

Provincial Party Secretary Do Trong Hung hopes to receive support from the Korean Embassy in Vietnam in organizing a working delegation from Thanh Hoa province to promote investment, trade and tourism in Korea in the near future; especially hopes to receive the attention of Korean enterprises to attend the Conference on Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion in Korea.

Mr. Choi Youngsam, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to Vietnam, spoke at the meeting.

Mr. Choi Youngsam, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to Vietnam, sincerely thanked the warm and sincere welcome of the Provincial Party Secretary Do Trong Hung and the provincial leaders; at the same time, he expressed his impression of the rich history, culture, land and people of Thanh Hoa. Mr. Choi Youngsam, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to Vietnam also congratulated the development achievements of Thanh Hoa province and thanked the province for its attention, support and assistance to Korean enterprises operating in the province; hoping that in the coming time, Thanh Hoa province will continue to create favorable conditions for Korean enterprises operating in the province to develop further.

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary informed about the interest of Korean enterprises intending to invest in Thanh Hoa province in the coming time, and hoped that through the working session, the Korean Embassy in Vietnam would connect with Korean authorities to strengthen coordination and support Thanh Hoa province to expand cooperation with Korean localities.

Mr. Hong Sun, Chairman of the Korean Business Association in Vietnam, spoke at the meeting.

Mr. Cho Joo Ho, General Director of Samsung Vietnam Complex spoke at the meeting.

At the meeting, representatives of large Korean agencies and corporations also discussed a number of areas related to human resource development, improving the efficiency of public administration, energy industry, electronics, etc.

Provincial Party Secretary Do Trong Hung thanked the sentiments and concerns of Korean corporations and enterprises for their positive evaluations of Thanh Hoa province. He stated that with the motto “the development of investors is the development of the province”, Thanh Hoa province will create favorable conditions for large Korean investors and corporations to come and learn about and invest in Thanh Hoa and become close friends.

Provincial Party Secretary Do Trong Hung presented a gift to the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Korea to Vietnam.

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to Vietnam presented a gift to Provincial Party Secretary Do Trong Hung.

Provincial Party Secretary Do Trong Hung and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to Vietnam and their colleagues took a souvenir photo.

On this occasion, Provincial Party Secretary Do Trong Hung and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Korea to Vietnam presented each other souvenirs to demonstrate the friendship and cooperation between Thanh Hoa and Korea.

Minh Hieu