30 years of Vietnam-RoK diplomatic ties marked in HCM City

In his remarks at the event, Nguyen Van Hieu, deputy secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, highlighted the great strides made in terms of the relationship between the two countries over the past three decades. Indeed, this period saw ties elevated to a comprehensive partnership in 2001 after only nine years since the establishment of diplomatic relations.

The strategic co-operation partnership was set up back in 2009 and was elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership during the state visit of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc to the RoK in early December. This marked a new historical milestone, duly marking the start of a new, stronger, and more substantive development period for the mutual partnership.

Ho Chi Minh City is proud to be one of the leading localities nationwide in consolidating and strengthening relations with the RoK in general, with a specific focus on Korean localities in particular.

Furthermore, the southern city has established friendly and co-operative relations with seven Korean localities, through which numerous co-operation documents have been signed and a wide range of exchange activities have been launched.

As of early December, the RoK represents a major investor, the country’s fourth largest trading partner with two-way turnover of US$5.6 billion, and is one of the three largest tourist markets of the southern metropolis.

Currently, there are more than 80,000 Koreans living, working, and studying in the city and neighbouring localities, thereby becoming a solid bridge cultivating understanding, trust, friendship, and effective linkages between the two countries as, well as between Ho Chi Minh City and the RoK.

The city is therefore fully committed to creating favourable conditions in which the Korean community in the city can live, work, and study in the best co-operative environment possible, Hieu went on.

The similarity in culture, history, and geography between Vietnam and the RoK is widely seen as the basis for both nations to strengthen people-to-people exchanges, cultural and artistic performances, and labour co-operation, thereby creating a solid foundation to boost the relationship that exists between the two countries.

As part of his address, Kang Myongil, RoK Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, emphasized that since the establishment of diplomatic relations back in 1992, bilateral relations have developed in leaps and bounds, with strengthened economic and people exchanges taking place between the two countries.

It can be said that the strong development of exchanges between the two countries over the past three years is unprecedented in history, highlighting that the two peoples are in the process of writing new pages of history for their nations.

Along with the goal of striving for a two-way trade turnover of US$100 billion, in the future the two countries’ citizens must strive to develop this relationship in an extensive and practical manner.

Myongil also hailed the remarkable contributions made by the two countries’ Governments and businesses to bilateral ties over the past three decades, adding that Governments and businesses of both sides will also continue to do their best to contribute to the joint efforts of the two peoples.