Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung received Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Bae Kyung Hoon in Hanoi on April 22, on the occasion of the state visit to Vietnam by RoK President Lee Jae Myung.
At the meeting, the Vietnamese Deputy PM underscored the significance of the visit, noting that it contributes to maintaining and further advancing the Vietnam–RoK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership across all sectors. In this context, science and technology cooperation has emerged as a new pillar, already delivering encouraging initial outcomes.
As Vietnam focuses on implementing its strategic development goals in the new phase, he affirmed that the country attaches great importance to strengthening cooperation with the RoK on the basis of trust, partnership, and shared development.
Dung called on the Korean side to continue its support and active contributions to advancing bilateral ties in line with the comprehensive strategic partnership framework; to sustain high-level exchanges and engagements at all levels; and to promote cooperation in a balanced, sustainable, and mutually beneficial manner.
In addition, he encouraged Korean enterprises to expand and scale up investment in Vietnam, particularly in priority sectors such as infrastructure development, high-tech electronics manufacturing, semiconductors, big data, biotechnology, and smart urban development. He also urged relevant ministries and agencies of both countries to strengthen coordination, effectively operate existing cooperation mechanisms, and translate policy agreements into concrete, impactful projects.
For his part, Bae noted that earlier this month, the two countries convened a meeting of the joint committee on science and technology, during which they discussed the development of a comprehensive cooperation plan in this field. The Korean side expressed confidence that this would serve as a solid foundation for expanding collaboration across multiple sectors.
He emphasised that many major Korean enterprises highly appreciate Vietnam’s development potential and its high-quality human resources. The two sides are also broadening cooperation in areas such as agriculture, human resource training, and the implementation of ODA projects.
In particular, the Korean side spoke highly of the Vietnam-Korea Institute of Science and Technology (VKIST) as a flagship model of bilateral cooperation.
The RoK affirmed its commitment to enhancing support for and coordination in implementing projects related to VKIST, aiming not only to strengthen its role as a research institution but also to develop it into a key hub connecting businesses from both countries. VKIST is also expected to serve as a platform for joint training programmes, especially in fields such as software development and artificial intelligence.
The Korean Deputy PM highlighted the strong potential of Vietnam’s young workforce and expressed hope that both sides would deepen cooperation in cutting-edge sectors such as artificial intelligence and the semiconductor industry – areas receiving significant attention from the Korean Government.
He added that the two sides have already engaged in extensive discussions at the ministerial and sectoral levels on these areas of cooperation, expressing confidence that more concrete initiatives will be implemented in the near future, contributing to the realisation of shared objectives and delivering tangible results./.
VNA
