PM’s visit expected to take Vietnam - RoK relations to new heights

PM Chinh and his wife will make an official visit to the RoK from June 30 to July 3 following an invitation made by RoK Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and his wife.

Vu, in a press briefing given ahead of Chinh’s visit, said this marks the first official visit made to the RoK by a senior Vietnamese leader since the two countries upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022.

The visit takes place at a time when Vietnam – RoK relations are developing at their best stage ever. The two sides have increasingly strengthened their political trust through regular reciprocal visits, as well as increased cooperation in all fields, ranging from defence and security to economics-trade-investment, culture, locality-to-locality, and people-to-people exchanges.

The RoK is currently Vietnam’s leading economic partner, ranking first in terms of direct investment and tourism, second in development co-operation, and third in trade and labour ties.

The RoK is also home to a large number of Vietnamese people who have chosen the Northeast Asian nation to live, work, and study. Meanwhile, there are also many Koreans currently living, working, and studying in Vietnam. The two countries’ expat communities both integrate well into their host societies, thereby making practical contributions to local socio-economic development whilst serving as a friendly bridge between the two countries’ relations.

This official visit to the RoK by PM Chinh and his wife is of paramount importance, stressed Deputy Minister Vu.

According to the diplomat, the visit demonstrates the importance that Vietnamese Party and State leaders attach to the comprehensive strategic partnership that exists with the Korean side. It expresses a keen Vietnamese desire to concretise the implementation of agreements of the two countries’ senior leaders, and most recently, the Action Program to implement the Vietnam-RoK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, signed in June, 2023.

The visit therefore is an opportunity for the two sides to review the latest developments in their comprehensive strategic partnership, and to exchange strategic issues in national security and defence, economic-trade-investment linkages, people-to-people exchanges, as well as collaboration at multilateral forums.

In the context of rapid and complicated developments occurring both regionally and globally, the visit serves to affirm the Vietnamese foreign policy of attaching importance to friendly and cooperative relations with the RoK, thereby further contributing to maintaining and promoting peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the wider world.

Vu revealed that in addition to talks and meetings held with Korean leaders, PM Chinh will attend and deliver speeches at three forums on business, tourism promotion, and labour co-operation. He will attend two seminars alongside leaders of Korean economic organisations and with Korean intellectuals and scientists on the topics of semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

The PM will also have meetings alongside representatives of several leading Korean economic groups investing in the Vietnamese market. He will call at the Embassy and meet with representatives of the Vietnamese community in the RoK, visit a Vietnamese-Korean multicultural family, give a policy speech at Seoul National University, and visit Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor factory in Pyeongtaek city of Gyeonggi province.

According to the diplomat, economic cooperation remain an important pillar in bilateral relations. The RoK maintains its leading position as the largest foreign investor in Vietnam, with a total accumulated registered capital of US$87 billion. Two-way trade turnover nearly hit US$80 billion last year, whilst the two countries are striving to raise the figure to US$100 billion in 2025 and US$150 billion by 2030.

The RoK is also a major partner of the country in official development aid (ODA), tourism, and labour ties. It is a developed country, that boasts many strengths in economic development, high technology, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence.

Through the visit, Vu said Vietnam expects to improve the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation in economics-trade-investment and supply chain diversity, along with enhancing cooperation in future fields such as semiconductors, supporting industries, digital transformation, green transformation, circular economy, and climate change response; as well as promoting cooperation in labour, culture, and tourism.