Vietnamese, S Korean leaders witness exchange of major cooperation documents

Vietnam's Party chief To Lam and South Korea's Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on Tuesday witnessed the exchange of dozens of cooperation documents between the two countries in Seoul.

The event took place within the Vietnam-South Korea Economic Forum, part of the Vietnamese leader’s state visit to South Korea.

The documents span areas including energy, digital infrastructure, manufacturing, logistics, tourism, finance, and high-quality personnel training.

Specifically, Vietnam News Agency and Yonhap News Agency signed an MoU on cooperation in the new period.

Hai Phong city will cooperate SK Leaveo to promote green growth in the northern port city, while Khanh Hoa province, Ca Mau province, and Can Tho city will partner with SK Innovation to develop specialized energy industrial clusters, and clean and diversified energy technology solutions.

State-run utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) will partner with Hyosung Heavy Industries to implement smart grid and STATCOM (Static Synchronous Compensator) projects, with potential transformer production in Vietnam.

State-owned Petrovietnam and its subsidiary Petrovietnam Technical Services Corporation (PTSC) concluded cooperation documents with SK Innovation and LS Eco Energy to build and operate a high-voltage cable plant in Vietnam in service of renewable energy projects.

Other notable agreements include Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC) and HD Hyundai’s joint venture for shipbuilding, and KN Holdings with Samsung C&T for three floating solar projects.

Regarding cooperation in digital transformation and infrastructure, Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) signed with KIRA and LG CNS to explore a 20-30 MW data center investment and operation in Vietnam.

State-controlled Vietnam Rubber Group and New Korea Trading Corp will cooperate to export high-tech agricultural products to the South Korean market.

CMC Technology and Solution and Samsung C&T agreed to develop an AI data center, while Viettel and KT Corporation set up strategic cooperation in AI solutions.

Other documents cover urban and high-speed railway projects, cold-chain logistics for fruit preservation and processing, finance-banking, services, tourism, and semiconductors.

Universities from both countries signed numerous accords to train high-quality personnel in semiconductors, AI, biotechnology, and rail engineering.