PM Pham Minh Chinh (R) and Speaker of the RoK’s National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo in Hanoi on January 17 (Photo: VNA) Both host and guest noted with satisfactionthat the twocountries’ relations have been developing unceasingly in all aspects over 30 years since bilateral diplomatic relations were set up.
At present, the RoK is ranking firstamong foreign investors in Vietnam with total capital reaching 80.5billion USD; second in terms of development cooperation, tourism, and labour;and third in terms of trade with revenue hitting 88 billion USD in 2022. About 8,000Korean enterprises are operating in Vietnam. Meanwhile, some 200,000 citizens of each country are living in the other country, including about80,000 multicultural families.
PM Chinh congratulated the RoK on itsnational development achievements and thanked the country’s State, NA, andpeople for their precious, practical, and effective assistance for Vietnam inthe recent past.
Congratulating Vietnam on fast andsteady economic growth amid difficulties, Speaker Kim appreciated theVietnamese Government’s attention to the development of the Korean businesscommunity.
He called on the Government ofVietnam to support his country’s hosting of World Expo 2023 in Busan; continue facilitatingKorean firms’ operations in Vietnam; help Korean banks open branches; facilitate RoK citizens' travel, work, and life in Vietnam; and back theexpansion of the RoK’s educational establishments in the Southeast Asiannation.
PM Chinh pledged to consider his guest’sproposals.
To achieve the goals of the Vietnam -RoK comprehensive strategic partnership, he asked Kim and the RoK’s parliamentto continue promoting substantive, efficient, and effective cooperation;increase all-level delegation exchanges and meetings between the countries’ Parties,Governments, and NAs; intensify cooperation in security and defence, especiallythe defence industry; and help Vietnam improve the capacity of its lawenforcement forces at sea.
As economic ties remain an importantpillar of bilateral cooperation, Chinh asked the two sides to work together tofruitfully implement the Vietnam - RoK Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) and the RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to raise bilateral trade to 100billion USD in 2023 and 150 billion USD by 2030 in a balanced and sustainablemanner.
Vietnam welcomes Korean enterprises' expansion of investment, especially in high technology, science - technology, innovation,green economy, digital economy, digital transformation, clean energy, smartcity, and eco-city development, the PM noted, calling on them to createconditions for Vietnamese businesses to take part in supply chains to helpVietnam soon become a centre of regional and global value chains.
He expressed his hope for the RoK’scontinuation of ODA cooperation mechanisms and assistance for Vietnamese peoplein the RoK. He also pledged support for Korean investors and citizens inVietnam.
At the meeting, PM Chinh alsoaffirmed that Vietnam always pays attention to and is ready to activelycontribute to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, and that itadvocates efforts to maintain peace in the Northeast Asian region via dialogueand by peaceful means.
For his part, Speaker Kim said theRoK supports and shares the common vision on the safeguarding of security,safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea; themaintenance of peace, stability, and legal order; the peaceful settlement ofsea disputes; and the ensuring of countries’ rights and legitimate interests inline with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of theSea (UNCLOS)./.
VNA
