This statement was made by the President of the Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam-RoK Friendship Association Vu Van Hoa at a ceremony to mark the 18^th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam- RoK diplomatic ties, in the City on December 22.

The two countries lifted diplomatic ties to a comprehensive cooperation relationship in 2001 and to a strategic cooperative partnership in 2009, Hoa said.

At the event, the RoK’s Consul General in HCM City Kim Sang Yoon stressed that the two countries’ relations had made great progress over the past 18 years.

President Hoa and the RoK Consul General noted that the RoK’s direct investment into Vietnam is increasing, reaching nearly US$23 billion as of November this year, up 250 times compared with 1992.

The two countries have exchanged about 500,000 tourists each year and there are nearly 100,000 Vietnamese living in the RoK and the same number of the RoK people living in HCM City, they said.

At the grassroots level, HCM City and RoK’s localities have regularly conducted a large number of exchanges for businesses, scholars and students as well as a wide range of cultural, sporting and charitable programmes.