19:17, 23/06/2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol said that Vietnam is a key partner in implementing the Indo-Pacific strategy and the Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative for Freedom, Peace and Prosperity, and affirmed that Korea will cooperate and exchange more closely with Vietnam.

On the morning of June 23, President Vo Van Thuong presided over the official welcoming ceremony for the President of the Republic of Korea and his wife with the most solemn rituals reserved for heads of state. The two leaders held talks, witnessed the signing ceremony and held a press conference to announce the results of the talks.

President Vo Van Thuong presided over the official welcoming ceremony for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. Photo: baoquocte.vn

At the press conference, President Vo Van Thuong said that the two sides had a very successful meeting in a friendly, open and sincere atmosphere. The two sides discussed in depth bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern and reached many important conclusions.

President Vo Van Thuong and the President of the Republic of Korea agreed that over the past 30 years of establishing diplomatic relations, the relationship between the two countries has made remarkable progress with important milestones, from Comprehensive Partnership in 2001 to Strategic Partnership in 2009 and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022.

“The two countries have truly become each other's top important partners,” the President emphasized.

Accordingly, in the spirit of the Strategic Partnership and what the two sides have discussed and agreed upon, the President announced a number of major orientations to promote bilateral relations in the coming time.

The two leaders held talks and agreed on cooperation frameworks. Photo: baoquocte.vn

Regarding foreign politics, the two sides agreed to continue to maintain regular exchanges, contacts, and delegations at high and all levels, thereby continuously strengthening political trust and deepening the relationship between the two countries' high-ranking leaders, and discussing international and regional issues of mutual concern.

Regarding national defense and security, the two sides agreed on a common perception of concretizing the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the field of national defense and security; promoting substantive cooperation and technology transfer in the field of national defense, enhancing cooperation in handling transnational crimes, preventing and combating terrorism, and responding to non-traditional security challenges.

In terms of economy, trade and investment, the two sides will work together to bring economic cooperation to a new, deeper and more effective level; strive to soon complete the goal of increasing bilateral trade turnover to 100 billion USD and aim for 150 billion USD by 2030 in a balanced and sustainable manner.

Vietnam welcomes Korean enterprises to make new investments and expand their investment scale, especially in priority areas such as national key projects and BOT projects to build thermal power plants, liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plants, high-tech electronic equipment manufacturing, semiconductors, big data, biotechnology, and smart cities; focusing on transferring source technology to Vietnam.

President Vo Van Thuong and President Yoon Suk Yeol co-chaired the press conference. Photo: baoquocte.vn

Regarding development cooperation (ODA), the two sides agreed to continue to cooperate closely to effectively implement Korea's ODA support for Vietnam; Korea agreed to continue to expand the scale of non-refundable aid to Vietnam, especially in the fields of research and development (R&D) and innovation. In particular, the two sides were pleased with the signing of the Korea Economic Promotion Fund (EDPF) Cooperation Agreement worth 2 billion USD to implement large-scale development investment projects in the fields of transportation and urban infrastructure in Vietnam.

Regarding labor cooperation, the two sides welcomed the signing of the extension of the Memorandum of Understanding on sending and receiving workers to work in Korea (EPS); agreed to create favorable conditions in simplifying procedures for residence registration and granting work permits for experts and workers of one country in the other.

Regarding cooperation in environmental resources and science and technology, Vietnam and Korea agreed to cooperate in environmental protection associated with green growth and sustainable development; Korea supports Vietnam in implementing strategic tasks on climate change adaptation and greenhouse gas emission reduction measures in accordance with Vietnam's commitments at COP 26; at the same time, it supports Vietnam in accessing core technology, modern technology, and implementing the second phase of the Vietnam - Korea Institute of Science and Technology (VKIST) Project.

Regarding culture, education, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges, the two sides agreed to promote the expansion of cultural, educational, and tourism exchanges, enhance mutual understanding and trust among all social classes, and create favorable conditions for each other's citizens.

The two sides agreed to continue to further promote cooperation between localities of the two countries through investment and trade promotion activities, the Meet Korea program; and increase connections of new flight routes between localities of the two countries.

President Vo Van Thuong emphasized that the two countries have truly become each other's leading important partners. Photo: baoquocte.vn

Regarding cooperation at multilateral forums, the two sides agreed to continue to strengthen coordination and support initiatives, with the common desire to contribute to peace, cooperation and development in the region; agreed to cooperate closely at international and regional forums, including ASEAN-Korea and Mekong-Korea cooperation.

The two sides agreed to continue supporting ASEAN's stance on ensuring maritime and aviation security and safety in the East Sea in accordance with international law and the 1982 UNCLOS. Vietnam always pays attention to and closely monitors the situation on the Korean Peninsula; is ready to promote and participate in the process of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

At the press conference, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said that the two sides discussed plans to further strengthen and enhance the cooperative relationship between the two countries to better match the upgraded Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and contribute to peace, prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Based on these exchanges, the two sides have proposed an action program to evaluate bilateral cooperation and agreed to substantially implement the Korea-Vietnam relationship.

First, the two sides agreed to strengthen strategic cooperation in the fields of diplomacy and security. The two sides affirmed that they will deepen strategic exchanges through regular talks between the two ministers of foreign affairs and defense. The Vietnamese government will actively support the enhancement of maritime security and order capacity based on the memorandum of understanding signed this time. At the same time, Korea will expand defense industry cooperation with Vietnam based on the increasingly consolidated political trust between the two countries.

President Yoon Suk Yeol said that Korea will cooperate and exchange more closely with Vietnam, which is a key partner in developing ASEAN-Korea relations and Mekong-Korea cooperation. Photo: baoquocte.vn

Second, the two sides agreed to further accelerate economic cooperation to achieve the goal of increasing trade turnover to 150 billion USD by 2030. The two sides also affirmed their efforts to continue to expand bilateral trade and investment in the context of many complex developments in the world. To achieve this, the two sides agreed to more effectively implement the Vietnam - Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) by opening and operating the electronic origin data exchange system to strongly promote convenience for import and export enterprises.

Third, the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in the core mineral supply chain, agreed on the potential for cooperation between the two sides in exploiting Vietnam's rich rare earth resources, and agreed to build a foundation for cooperation in the core mineral supply chain by establishing a Core Mineral Supply Chain Center. In addition, the two sides agreed to seek cooperation options in the fields of climate change response, smart cities, hydrogen production, and LNG power development.

Fourth, the two sides agreed to step up efforts to further promote people-to-people exchanges, which are the foundation for the development of relations between Korea and Vietnam. The Korean government will expand exchange support projects, including a project to support Korean language education in Vietnam and a scholarship program to enhance exchanges between future generations who will lead the relationship between the two countries.

Fifth, the Korean government will expand development cooperation to support Vietnam’s sustainable development and prosperity. The Korean government will extend the Framework Credit Agreement and expand the capital support for economic cooperation and development from 1.5 billion USD to 2 billion USD in the next few years. At the same time, the two sides signed for the first time a cooperation agreement on economic cooperation promotion capital of 2 billion USD. This will support the refundable aid capital to reach 4 billion USD by 2030.

President Yoon Suk Yeol believes that this state visit will help develop and strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. Photo: baoquocte.vn

According to the President of South Korea, the country will provide non-refundable aid with a total scale of 200 million USD in the period of 2024 - 2027 in the fields of environment, climate change response, health, education, digital transformation... especially planning to support joint research of the two countries with a scale of 30 million USD in the next 10 years with non-refundable aid from KOICA to support Vietnam's efforts in scientific and technological innovation.

Vietnam is a key partner in implementing the Indo-Pacific Strategy and the Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative for Freedom, Peace and Prosperity. Korea will cooperate and exchange more closely with Vietnam, which is a key partner in developing ASEAN-Korea relations and Mekong-Korea cooperation.

South Korea and Vietnam will strengthen cooperation both bilaterally and within the ASEAN framework to lead the necessary coordination of the international community.

"I would like to thank you for your warm welcome. I believe that this State visit will help develop and strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries," President Yoon Suk Yeol emphasized.

According to baoquocte.vn