Vietnamese leadership, S Korean President stress ‘especially close’ ties

Vietnam’s Party, legislative and executive leaders stressed the need to further strengthen close bilateral ties in separate meetings held Friday with visiting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The meetings with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh followed Yoon’s meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Vo Van Thuong the same day.

In his meeting with Thuong, the South Korean President agreed to provide Vietnam with $4 billion in ODA loans by 2030.

At the Party's Hanoi headquarters, Trong said Vietnam places great importance on its relationship with South Korea and expressed pleasure that the two countries have established a strong foundation for developing their ties further by elevating the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership last December.

Trong said he believed that Yoon’s state visit to Vietnam would take the bilateral relationship to new heights. He said the two countries needed to increase exchange visits to further strengthen bilateral cooperation.

The Party chief said Vietnam will continue to promote its reform process and strive to be a friend and reliable partner of all countries, especially close ones like South Korea.

Yoon said Vietnam was a key Asian partner for South Korea. He called for developing the bilateral relationship in line with that of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. As part of this, South Korea will continue to facilitate the education of Vietnamese students in his country, Yoon said.

In his meeting with Yoon, Vietnamese PM Chinh said the South Korean leader’s visit was of great significance. He said Vietnam consistently attached importance to relations with South Korea and expected both sides to jointly develop a new framework of relations with a longer vision and higher goals, including almost doubling bilateral trade to $150 billion by 2030 in a balanced and sustainable manner.

Chinh suggested that South Korea continues to open up more to Vietnamese goods like agricultural and aquatic products including seasonal fruits, as also support Vietnamese businesses to integrate deeper with the global supply chain.

The Vietnamese PM called for Korean businesses to continue expanding their investments in Vietnam.

Yoon affirmed that the South Korean government will continue to encourage and create conditions for Korean businesses to invest in Vietnam. He hoped the Vietnamese government would remove difficulties facing Korean businesses investing in Vietnam, and called for strengthened bilateral defense ties.

In his meeting with National Assembly Chairman Hue, Yoon urged the Vietnamese parliament to play an active role in developing bilateral relations.

Appreciating the enhanced economic, trade and investment ties between the two countries, Hue called for more balanced and sustainable trade relations.