Hanoi (VNA) – As part of his state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK), Party General Secretary To Lam, his spouse, and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation on August 13 attended the inauguration ceremony of the Consulate General of Vietnam in Busan and a celebration marking the 30th anniversary of the friendly and cooperative relations between the Korean city and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City.
Addressing the inauguration event, Vietnamese Consul General in Busan Doan Phuong Lan said the city is home to a large Vietnamese community that is increasingly integrating into local society. The opening of the consulate general reflects the Vietnamese Party and State’s deep concern for citizens living, studying, and working in the RoK’s southern region.
Lan affirmed that the diplomatic agency will serve as a common home for the Vietnamese expatriates, acting as an effective bridge to help elevate the Vietnam–RoK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to a new height, for the benefit and prosperity of both nations. Busan Mayor Park Heong Joon stressed that in the context of the robust development of bilateral ties, the establishment is vivid evidence of the deepening linkages between the two nations, serving as a solid bridge to expand locality-to-locality cooperation in various fields such as economy, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.
On this occasion, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son presented the “For the Cause of Vietnam's Diplomacy” insignia to Park Soo Kwan, former Honorary Consul General of Vietnam in the Busan area.
At the subsequent anniversary celebration co-organised by the HCM City People’s Committee and Busan authorities, Party General Secretary Lam affirmed the indispensable role of locality-to-locality cooperation in fostering substantive ties between the two countries. He noted that the opening of the consulate general underscores Vietnam’s high regard for Busan’s role in relations with Vietnam in general as well as with HCM City and other Vietnamese localities.
He said that both HCM City and Busan are major economic and innovation hubs of their respective countries, offering ample conditions for continued collaboration. The Party chief expressed hope that Busan will expand its cooperation with other Vietnamese localities, especially coastal provinces, and that the city’s government and people will work closely with their Vietnamese partners to effectively realise the cooperation orientations agreed upon by the two countries’ leaders.
In his remarks, Chairman of the Busan Metropolitan Council Ahn Sung Min affirmed readiness to continue supporting HCM City for mutual development.
Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen said many opportunities are opening up for cooperation between the two cities in potential and advantageous areas, such as digital transformation, innovation, education and training, tourism, high-tech industry, logistics, marine economy, and people-to-people exchanges. The sides are to translate the agreements reached by the two countries’ leaders into practical and effective actions./.
