A high-ranking delegation from the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, headed by its President Huynh Dam, is on a visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) from Nov. 1-7.

The delegates were received by the RoK National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o and Prime Minister Chung Un-chan in the capital city of Seoul on Nov. 4.

Kim and Chung applauded the visit, which, they said takes place at a time when senior leaders of the two nations have agreed to elevate their bilateral relations to the level of a strategic cooperative partnership.

They congratulated Vietnam on its great socio-economic achievements and its growing role and position in the international arena, affirming the RoK would strengthen its ties with Vietnam .

Both Kim and Chung expressed their sympathy over Vietnam ’s devastating losses in terms of human life and property due to typhoon Ketsana, and said they hoped the country would speedily recover from disaster.

Dam said the parliaments, governments, and peoples of Vietnam and the RoK should make concerted efforts to develop friendly and cooperative ties in a more stable and effective manner in the spirit of a strategic cooperative partnership as recently agreed by Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet and his RoK counterpart Lee Myung-bak.

He called on the RoK National Assembly and government to create further favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in the RoK, especially women who marry local men and Vietnamese guest workers.

While briefing his host on the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s role, functions and tasks, Dam pledged to make greater efforts to encourage the Vietnamese people to implement agreements reached by the two countries’ leaders./.