(Chinhphu.vn) – The Head of Government has taken advantage of every hour and every minute to promote the image of the country and its people, promote Vietnam's safe and favorable investment environment, and meet and share to attract leading Korean Chaebols to continue investing and doing business long-term in Vietnam.

On the evening of July 3, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his wife and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation returned to Hanoi, successfully concluding an official visit to South Korea from June 30 to July 3 at the invitation of South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck Soo.

This is the first visit to Korea by a senior Vietnamese leader since the two countries upgraded their relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (December 2022) and the first visit to Korea by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh as head of the Government. The visit was highly appreciated by politicians and businesses, who paid special attention to the visit as well as cooperation opportunities for the strength and prosperity of each country, and for the happiness of the people of the two countries.

Vietnam - Korea relations are at their best.

During the working trip, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a dense, rich and diverse working program with 34 activities with politicians, economists, experts, scientists, friendship organizations, non-governmental organizations, etc.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea Han Duck Soo; together with Prime Minister Han Duck Soo, witnessed the ceremony of handing over cooperation documents signed between ministries and branches of the two countries; met with President Yoon Suk Yeol and National Assembly Chairman Woo Won Shik; attended and spoke at three forums on economy, labor, tourism and culture; attended and spoke at two seminars with leading economic organizations of Korea and with Korean experts and scientists in the fields of semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI).

The Prime Minister also delivered an important policy speech at Seoul National University, South Korea, visited Samsung's semiconductor complex and received leaders of major Korean corporations, visited the Embassy, ​​met with the Vietnamese community in Korea, and visited a Vietnamese-Korean multicultural family.

During the working trip, the Ministers and local leaders participating in the delegation also had dozens of meetings and worked with their Korean counterparts and partners. The meetings and exchanges with the Korean side took place in an atmosphere of sincerity, trust, substance and mutual understanding.

With its important significance, rich program, and extensive content, the visit was a great success, achieving the set goals, with substantial and comprehensive results, both having long-term strategic significance and bringing about specific, practical effects, and timely impacts on Vietnam's investment and business environment.

The leaders of the two countries assessed the progress of the Vietnam-Korea cooperation relationship since its upgrade to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022, and agreed on specific cooperation contents to promote cooperation in the fields of politics-diplomacy, trade, investment, science-technology, culture, tourism, labor, people-to-people exchange in new areas of cooperation... Ministries, sectors, and businesses of the two countries signed 40 cooperation documents in various fields.

Reviewing the implementation situation and practical cooperation achievements, the two sides assessed that the Vietnam - Korea relationship is in the best development period since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, and the two sides have become each other's leading important partners.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assessed that Vietnam and Korea have five major similarities , which are: (1) Similarities in history, with cultural exchanges dating back more than 800 years; (2) Similarities in the aspiration to develop the country through integration and openness; (3) Similarities in the way of thinking, making it easy to empathize; (4) Similarities in people-to-people exchanges with increasingly close in-law relationships; (5) Similarities in the aspiration to contribute to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

After more than 30 years, especially since the two countries established the Strategic Partnership (2009) and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2022), the cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Korea has made remarkable progress, demonstrated through 8 points : (1) Higher political trust; (2) More prosperous trade cooperation; (3) Korean investment in Vietnam has increased more strongly; (4) Labor cooperation has expanded more; (5) Tourism cooperation has recovered more strongly; (6) Cooperation between localities has become more cohesive and substantive; (7) Cooperation in science and technology and climate change response has progressed more; (8) Closer cooperation in regional and international issues.

Enhance mutual understanding and increase political trust

The working trip has deepened political trust, consolidated good personal relations between senior leaders and the close ties between the people of the two countries.

The Korean side gave a warm, respectful and thoughtful welcome to the Vietnamese delegation. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks, meetings and talks with all the highest leaders of Korea, as well as former leaders such as former Prime Ministers and former National Assembly Chairmen. The leaders of the two countries affirmed their determination to implement high-level agreements, developing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in a practical, effective and long-term manner.

The Korean leader emphasized that the two countries have many similarities in history and culture, and complement each other in terms of economy and human resources. The community of nearly 300,000 Vietnamese citizens in Korea and 200,000 Korean citizens in Vietnam, and about 80,000 Vietnamese-Korean multicultural families are favorable factors creating natural, close and mutually beneficial connections, thereby developing comprehensive and substantive cooperation between the two countries.

The Korean leader affirmed that Vietnam is the focus in implementing Korea's foreign policies in the region, including the Indo-Pacific Strategy and the ASEAN-Korea Solidarity Initiative (KASI). Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Vietnam supports Korea's development policies and goals, including the "Global Key Country" policy.

The two sides agreed to consolidate the foundation of the relationship, which is mutual understanding and increased political trust through promoting exchanges between the two countries' senior leaders in diverse and flexible forms, with mutual visits and at multilateral forums and conferences; expanding cooperation through the Party, Government, National Assembly, ministries, sectors, localities and social classes of the two countries.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that Vietnam wishes to learn from Korea's experience in its strong aspirations and development achievements; he suggested that both sides focus on promoting five "priorities" in developing bilateral relations in the coming time, including: (1) Prioritizing consolidating the foundation of the relationship; (2) Prioritizing strengthening cooperation in key areas, including economics, trade, investment and labor, in an increasingly practical, effective, balanced and sustainable manner; (3) Prioritizing creating breakthroughs in cultural cooperation, tourism and people-to-people exchange; (4) Prioritizing further promoting cooperation in education and training, science and technology, and climate change response; (5) Prioritizing close cooperation and mutual support in multilateral mechanisms and forums.

Promoting multi-billion dollar cooperation projects

The visit achieved substantial results in economic, trade and investment cooperation , thereby contributing to the implementation of the contents of the Action Program for June 2023. More than half of the Prime Minister's activities during this visit focused on the economic field and the two sides affirmed that economic cooperation is one of the most important pillars in cooperation between the two countries.

To date, Korea continues to be the number 1 partner in direct investment, tourism, number 2 in development cooperation (ODA), number 3 in labor and trade of Vietnam. Meanwhile, Vietnam is the leading trade partner of Korea in ASEAN. In particular, the two economies and businesses of the two countries have increasingly deep and effective connections. Many Korean businesses consider Vietnam an attractive and safe investment destination, the top choice.

The two sides agreed to jointly implement specific measures to soon complete the goal of increasing bilateral trade turnover to 100 billion USD by 2025 and towards the target of 150 billion USD by 2030 in a balanced and sustainable manner; agreed to promote procedures to soon open each other's markets for Vietnamese grapefruit and Korean melons in 2024.

The Korean leader affirmed that he will continue to consider Vietnam a strategic partner in development cooperation (ODA); will support capacity building for Vietnamese enterprises to participate more deeply in the production supply chain of Korean enterprises. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that it is necessary to implement large-scale cooperation projects with special preferential conditions, works symbolizing the relationship between the two countries; proposed to promote loans through the Economic Development Promotion Fund (EDPF) worth 02 billion USD and non-binding loan conditions for loans from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) worth 02 billion USD to develop strategic infrastructure such as building high-speed railways.

The two sides agreed to encourage Korean enterprises to expand their investment in Vietnam, in key industries and future industries such as digital transformation, green economy, circular economy, semiconductors, environmentally friendly energy, biotechnology, 5G network, smart cities; agreed to expand exchanges in the fields of small and medium enterprises and startups; and implement human resource training projects in the fields of high technology and digital transformation such as artificial intelligence (AI). In addition, the two sides agreed to strengthen necessary cooperation in promoting investment by Korean enterprises to build a stable core mineral supply chain.

The visit promoted very specific economic cooperation programs and projects between the two countries . The Prime Minister attended the Vietnam - Korea Business Forum, held talks with leading Korean economic organizations on energy and finance, and received leaders of dozens of leading Korean corporations.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh shared about the situation and orientation of Vietnam's economic development, asked Korean enterprises to continue expanding their investment in Vietnam, and witnessed the signing ceremony of 23 cooperation documents between enterprises and localities of the two countries on cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, health, education, semiconductors, energy and strengthening cooperation between Vietnamese localities and Korean enterprises.

Korean enterprises highly appreciate Vietnam's safe and stable investment environment and the room for cooperation; they thank the Vietnamese Government for its attention in removing difficulties and creating favorable conditions for enterprises to feel secure and invest long-term in Vietnam.

Leading Korean corporations have announced a series of plans to increase capital and expand investment in Vietnam worth billions of USD, such as LG plans to disburse an additional 3 billion USD in the next 5 years; Samsung will also invest heavily in the next 3 years to make its factory in Vietnam the largest display module production base of the corporation globally; Hyosung commits to "put the next 100 years in Vietnam", building a Data Center with a total capital of 300 million USD in Ho Chi Minh City...

Enhancing cooperation in labor, culture and tourism

Through the visit, the two sides promoted cooperation in human resources, labor, culture and tourism.

The two sides affirmed that labor cooperation brings benefits to both sides. Vietnam is among the leading countries sending workers to Korea (about 66,000 workers), while the number of Korean workers working in Vietnam also increases rapidly every year (nearly 20,000 workers), ranking first and accounting for over 16% of the total number of foreign workers working in Vietnam. Vietnamese workers in Korea are diligent, hardworking, highly skilled, and creative, and are increasingly contributing significantly to the socio-economic development of both countries.

The good political relations between the two countries have brought specific benefits to the people and workers. Recently, Korean agencies have come to Vietnam to review, inspect and officially agree to allow outstanding Vietnamese youths to continue to return under a 4-year labor program, according to the requirements of higher quality professional training and higher skills. This is the basis for the relationship between Vietnamese and Korean labor to continue to expand in the direction of training in high-quality professional occupations with higher productivity and income.

Korea pledges to support Vietnam in training workers in the industrial sector, creating a favorable environment for Vietnamese workers to live and work stably and conveniently in Korea.

The two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in culture, tourism, and education towards the goal of people-to-people exchange between the two countries reaching 5 million people. The Korean leaders welcomed and affirmed that they will support the opening of the Vietnamese Consulate General in Busan in 2024 and the establishment of the Vietnamese Cultural Center in Korea; Korea will share experiences and support Vietnam in developing the cultural industry.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed to bring Vietnam-Korea cultural and tourism cooperation to a new level, creating value and new momentum for the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The Prime Minister also proposed to simplify visa procedures and move towards visa exemption for Vietnamese citizens entering Korea; strengthen cooperation between localities of the two countries, effectively implement the “Meet Korea” mechanism in localities; and request the Korean Government to continue to support and create more favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community to feel secure and settle down in Korea for a long time.

Opening up new horizons of strategic cooperation

The working trip opened up many opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in a number of new areas of strategic significance such as innovation, high technology, renewable energy, digital transformation, green transformation, climate change response, semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI).

The Korean leaders hope that the two sides will cooperate to soon create substantial results in these fields, agreeing to study the exchange mechanism on directions and specific projects that can be implemented in the fields of semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and human resource training in the field of innovation; commit to supporting Vietnam with 30 million USD in 4 years to implement the R&D research and development project, and continue to implement phase 2 of the Vietnam-Korea Institute of Science and Technology (VKIST) project.

The Prime Minister suggested that Korea consider Vietnam as a strategic destination for building research and development centers; encourage the transfer of core and source technologies; and support Vietnam to successfully organize the Partnership for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit in April 2025.

The Korean leader said that Vietnam is the first country to sign a climate change agreement with Korea and affirmed that it will support Vietnam to successfully organize the Partnership for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit in April 2025.

Special affection and expectations for Vietnam

A highlight of the visit was the close affection, attachment, and positive evaluations that Korean partners and friends had for the country, Party, State, and people of Vietnam . At the meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Korean friends sincerely shared their special feelings for Vietnam, President Ho Chi Minh, and General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

Professor Ryu Hong Lim, President of Seoul National University, assessed that Vietnam has overcome the COVID-19 pandemic spectacularly and quickly recovered after the pandemic. The Vietnamese economy achieved the feat of attracting more than 36 billion USD by 2023.

“This year, Vietnam is attracting the attention of international businesses and investors as the most dynamic, fastest growing, and exemplary emerging industrial country, with all economic indicators such as production, consumption, investment, and domestic exports all improving significantly,” said Professor Ryu Hong Lim. He assessed that the Vietnamese Government is implementing long-term programs and strategies to bring the Vietnamese economy to a new level according to the growth model based on technological innovation, and in this field, the two countries are expected to be perfect partners.

Sharing the same view, Chairman of the Korea Global Innovation Research Association Kim Jin Pyo, former Chairman of the Korean National Assembly, highly appreciated the drastic and effective direction and management of the Vietnamese Government and the strong development of the Vietnamese economy in recent times, with GDP growth in 2024 alone likely to reach the highest in the region.

Chairman of the Korea-Vietnam Cultural and Economic Exchange Association (KOVECA) Kwon Sung Taek said that entry into Vietnam is the most talked about topic among Korean businessmen, and Vietnam is one of the most chosen destinations for Koreans to travel to. “Therefore, with this visit, we have more expectations than any visit by a government leader or head of state to Korea,” he said.

Korean partners have repeatedly expressed their appreciation for the Prime Minister’s messages and said they will carry out this spirit in their cooperation. Mr. Lee Jae Yong, Chairman of Samsung Group, said that Samsung is committed to always accompanying Vietnam in sustainable development in the spirit of “harmonious benefits and shared risks” that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has repeatedly mentioned.

South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Dukgeun expressed his impression and shared the motto of “3 together” (listening and understanding together; sharing vision, awareness and action together; doing together, enjoying together, winning together and developing together) of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

For his part, the Prime Minister called on Korean investors, businesses, and people to continue to show affection for Vietnam, “if you love it, love it even more”, turning this affection into specific actions, projects, and cooperation programs, saying what you do, committing to it, “clearly describing the people, the work, the time, the products, and having specific results”.

The Prime Minister's working trip has attracted the attention and comments of the international and Korean press, as well as international friends and partners. Following the very vibrant diplomatic activities, which have achieved many important and historic achievements in recent times, the visit is a practical step in implementing the foreign policy of the 13th National Party Congress, not only developing and deepening the Vietnam - Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership but also benefiting the peace, stability and development of the region and the world, contributing to affirming the increasingly high position and role of Vietnam in the international arena.

Ha Van - Chinhphu.vn

Source: https://media.chinhphu.vn/tan-dung-tung-phut-tung-gio-de-thu-hut-dau-tu-tu-cac-chaebol-hang-dau-han-quoc-102240703233912153.htm

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