Top Korean legislator's visit to create strong impetus for common goals

This marks the first official visit to Vietnam by Speaker Kim since taking office in July, 2022, as well as being the first visit by a Korean senior leader to Vietnam after the two countries upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in December, 2022.

In a recent media interview given as part of the occasion, Dr. Choe Won-gi, head of the Center for ASEAN–India Studies at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA), highlighted the significance of the visit, as well as prospects for further ties between the two countries in the near future.

According to Professor Choe, the visit is very important as it will create a strong impetus to promote the goals that both nations' leaders agreed upon during the visit to the RoK by Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc last year.

Within the framework of the visit, Speaker Kim is expected to hold a series of meetings with Vietnamese leaders to discuss bilateral ties.

A highlight of the visit will be Speaker Kim attending the inauguration ceremony of the Vietnam - Korea Institute of Science and Technology (VKIST), modeled on the Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).

This represents the largest non-refundable project between both sides, with Dr. Choe emphasising that the RoK has made remarkable growth thanks to its focus on science and technology development.

KIST has played an important role in the development of science and technology in the RoK. Therefore, the two countries must seek to strengthen linkages so that the VKIST can contribute to Vietnamese development in science and technology in the future.

Assessing the prospects for future bilateral co-operation, Prof. Choe said that mutual relations have been extremely successful over the past 30 years since the establishment of their diplomatic ties back in 1992.

The relationship between has made remarkable progress, especially in terms of economics, he said, adding that now is the time for the pair to take their bilateral relationship to new heights on a par with that of a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Vietnam and the RoK share interests, not only in the economic field, but also in the diplomatic, security, and strategic fields, he went on to say, noting that the two countries also have very close cultural ties.

According to him, the close strategic co-operation between the two countries should be further promoted through people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

With regard to economic co-operation, the two countries can work together to promote the advancement of industrial technology in Vietnam and bring bilateral economic ties to a level close to an economic community outside the free trade agreement (FTA). This is along with creating conditions for human resources, capital, and technology to flow freely between the two countries, towards meeting the long-term goal of establishing an economic community that connects the two economies.

Prof. Choe said that in addition to the economic field, the two countries can become strategic partners in the fields of politics, diplomacy, as well as security and defence.

Regarding the RoK's Indo-Pacific Strategy, Prof. Choe said that the most important element in the strategy of President Yoon Suk-yeol's administration is the Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative.

He assessed that among ASEAN member states, Vietnam is the most reliable and important partner of the RoK. Indeed, the core of the RoK’s Indo-Pacific policy is currently ASEAN and the core of ASEAN is Vietnam.

The nation therefore plays a very important role in connecting and accelerating negotiations on the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula, he added.