Vietnam, Korea elevate ties to comprehensive strategic partnership

Vietnam and South Korea have upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of bilateral relations.

Vietnam’s President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol announced the upgrade in South Korea on Monday during a press briefing held after the two leaders’ official talks as part of the former's official visit.

The leaders reaffirmed the goal of raising bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2023 and working towards $150 billion by 2030 in a “balanced direction”.

Vietnam welcomes Korean companies to further expand their investment with technology transfer and a strong focus on electronics, infrastructure development, construction of intensive technology complexes, green industrial parks, and smart cities, the Vietnamese leader said.

South Korea is currently the biggest investor in Vietnam with total registered capital of $80 billion.

In terms of politics and foreign affairs, the two sides will maintain regular exchanges, including exchanges of high-level delegations in diverse and flexible forms, and promptly share opinions on bilateral cooperative relations as well as regional and international situations, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

The two nations also agreed to expand labor cooperation in new forms and continue to support Vietnamese workers in South Korea and Korean workers in Vietnam.

In culture, education, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges, Phuc said Vietnam agreed to promote the expansion of cultural exchanges, education and tourism, and enhance understanding and trust in each other in all social classes, creating favorable conditions for each other’s citizens.

There are currently about 250,000 Vietnamese living in South Korea and 200,000 Koreans in Vietnam.

South Korea has agreed to support the establishment of the Vietnamese Cultural Center in the East Asian country. It will also consider a plan to support the construction of a Center for Disease Prevention and Control in Vietnam.

Korean President Yoon said the two sides agreed to promote people-to-people exchanges and boost government-level cooperation to ensure safety for the people of the two countries. South Korea will also step up support for Korean language teaching in general education in Vietnam.