Vietnam, S Korea seek strengthened investment ties in semiconductors, renewables, smart city building

Vietnam and South Korea will scale up their investment collaboration in infrastructure development, high-tech electronic manufacturing, semiconductors, AI, renewable energy, smart city building, and construction of specialized industrial parks, their top leaders stated on Monday.

This is one of the orientations outlined by Vietnam's Party General Secretary To Lam and South Kora's President Lee Jae Myung in their joint statement released at a press briefing in Seoul.

The press meeting shared the outcomes of their talks held as part of the Vietnamese Party chief's ongoing state visit to South Korea.

After more than 30 years of development, the Vietnam-South Korea relationship has become a model for good ties, with outstanding and comprehensive achievements, particularly since the elevation of bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in December 2022, said the Vietnamese top leader.

Lam emphasized that political trust between the two nations has been unceasingly reinforced, while cooperation across all areas has grown increasingly substantive and effective, and people-to-people exchanges have become more vibrant.

For his part, President Lee highlighted that the visit by the Vietnamese Party chief, accompanied by his wife and a high-level delegation, has helped strengthen bilateral ties.

During the talks, both sides held in-depth discussions on domestic developments and bilateral relations, as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern, reaching consensus in a number of important areas.

The South Korean President expressed his hope that the two sides will continue to forge cooperation across multiple fields, bringing tangible benefits to both peoples.

At the press conference, Lam and Lee emphasized that in the spirit of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the two sides had discussed and reached consensus on several major directions to further advance bilateral relations in the near future.

They agreed to continue expanding cooperation between their Parties, states, governments and parliaments to give timely strategic directions and create a favorable political foundation to expand collaboration across all fields.

Both leaders also agreed to strengthen practical cooperation in key areas like diplomacy, defence and security, as well as work together to address non-traditional security issues, including transnational crime, cybercrime and drug trafficking.

They were unanimous in the desire to expand the scale of investment in conjunction with substantive collaboration in technology, with priority given to such areas as infrastructure development, high-tech electronic equipment manufacturing, semiconductors, AI, renewable energy, smart city building and the construction of specialized industrial production complexes as part of value chains.

In addition, they reaffirmed their commitment to facilitating trade and market access for each other's goods, aiming to achieve the trade target of $150 billion by 2030.

Collaboration will also be focused on developing strategic transport infrastructure, energy infrastructure, digital infrastructure and infrastructure for climate change adaptation.

The leaders noted that the two sides had agreed to turn scientific and technological cooperation into a pillar and a new highlight of bilateral relations.

They will actively encourage relevant agencies to boost collaboration in science and technology, innovation, digital transformation and workforce training, particularly in the development of strategic technological industries and products.

Broadening cooperation in emerging and breakthrough fields such as advanced electronic equipment manufacturing, artificial intelligence and renewable energy will also be undertaken to meet the development needs of both sides.

Lam and Lee agreed to enhance joint efforts in culture, education and people-to-people exchanges, thereby laying a solid foundation for long-term companionship between the two countries and promoting exchanges between their peoples and localities.

The leaders expressed their confidence that the Vietnam-South Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will continue to grow in a substantive, effective and sustainable manner for the benefit of their peoples, thereby contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.