National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. (Source: VNA)

On the afternoon of June 23, at the National Assembly House, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

On behalf of the Vietnamese National Assembly, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue warmly welcomed President Yoon Suk Yeol, his wife and the high-ranking delegation of the Republic of Korea on a state visit to Vietnam.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said that, along with the very successful official visit to Vietnam by South Korean National Assembly Chairman Kim Jin Pyo in January 2023, President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit took place right after the two countries upgraded their relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and was the first visit to Southeast Asia, demonstrating the importance of the Government and the President personally to the relationship between the two countries.

Delighted with the new developments within the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the National Assembly Chairman emphasized that the relationship between the two countries has truly entered a new journey with new momentum. In the overall relationship between the two countries, cooperation between the two National Assemblies has always played an important role and achieved many positive results.

The leaders of the National Assembly, specialized committees and the Vietnam-Korea Friendship Parliamentarians Group maintain regular exchanges and dialogues. The two sides closely cooperate and support each other in multilateral inter-parliamentary forums such as the IPU, APPF, ASEP, and MSEAP, actively contributing to maintaining peace, stability and cooperation in the region and the world.

Appreciating the cooperation between the two countries in the fields of economy, trade and investment, the National Assembly Chairman suggested that the two countries further enhance trade facilitation and continue to promote the scale of bilateral trade in a balanced and sustainable manner. Korean enterprises should strengthen connections and support Vietnamese enterprises to participate more deeply in the supply chain of Korean enterprises.

The two sides will cooperate to form a number of strategic supply chains that both sides have potential, strengths and needs. Korea is interested in expanding the scale of ODA provision to Vietnam; encouraging large Korean corporations to open innovation centers and R&D centers in Vietnam.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue meets with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. (Source: VNA)

The National Assembly Chairman suggested that the two countries continue to promote cooperation in the field of defense and security, and promote cooperation in seasonal labor and holiday labor. The two governments will soon implement the Social Insurance Agreement signed during the National Assembly Chairman's official visit to Korea in December 2021. Korea will support human resource training; promote people-to-people exchanges; and prioritize cooperation projects to promote twinning and local cooperation, including elected bodies in the two countries' localities.

Emphasizing that the young generation in general, including young National Assembly deputies/parliamentarians, are the future of Vietnam-Korea relations, the National Assembly Chairman suggested that Korea consider supporting and sponsoring the Vietnam-Korea student exchange program.

On this occasion, the National Assembly Chairman respectfully invited the Korean National Assembly delegation to Vietnam to attend the 9th Global Young Parliamentarians Forum.

The National Assembly Chairman suggested that the two sides cooperate closely and support each other on international and regional issues of mutual concern; welcomed the Republic of Korea to continue contributing to and strengthening cooperation within the framework of ASEAN-Korea, Mekong-Korea and closely coordinate with Vietnam in its role as the coordinator of ASEAN-Korea relations for the 2021-2024 period; asked the Republic of Korea to support and share a common vision on ensuring security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea; affirmed that Vietnam is always interested in and ready to actively contribute to the process of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol with delegations from the two countries. (Source: VNA)

President Yoon Suk Yeol basically agreed with National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue's proposal to promote cooperation in many fields between the two countries, and suggested that the two sides continue to support each other in multilateral forums.

Appreciating the role of enterprises in economic development in general, the President of the Republic of Korea emphasized the importance of the legislative bodies of the two countries in continuing to create a favorable legal environment for economic development. The economic situation has complicated developments globally, however, with strong financial capacity, Korean enterprises have many possibilities and potential for cooperation.

Currently, large, medium and small Korean enterprises investing in Vietnam tend to focus on the high-tech science sector with the desire to create new values. This cooperation will be a natural mechanism for transferring technology and experience between the two countries.

The President of South Korea said he is interested in developing science and technology for future generations of the two countries, including Vietnamese students in South Korea, so that after completing their studies, these students will contribute to improving Vietnam's development and production capacity, and will be a bridge for the development of relations between the two countries.

Thanking the sharing of President of the Republic of Korea Yoon Suk Yeol, Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue affirmed that the National Assembly and the Government of Vietnam attach great importance to and will continue to create favorable conditions for Korean investors to invest in Vietnam.

The Vietnamese National Assembly has asked the Government to carefully review issues related to the global minimum tax and the National Assembly is expected to consider this issue at its session later this year; it hopes that Korea will share its experience with Vietnam on the issue of global minimum tax.

At the ongoing session, the Vietnamese National Assembly has approved amendments to visa regulations with breakthroughs in facilitating foreigners to enter, exit, and reside in Vietnam. The National Assembly Chairman said he will discuss with the Government the issue of work permits to facilitate Korean experts entering Vietnam.