Vietnam treasures partnership with RoK
(VOV) - Vietnam wants to work closely together with the Republic of Korea to bring bilateral relations to new heights, Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh told Deputy Foreign Minister Cho Tae Yong.
Receiving the RoK diplomat in Hanoi on May 29, Minh noted that Vietnam-RoK relations have developed strongly after both countries established the strategic partnership in 2009.
He said they both continue maintaining high-level exchange visits to promote political trust and mutual understanding.
Vietnam will continue creating the best possible conditions for RoK businesses to do long-term and efficient business in the country, he assured his guest.
Minh proposed that Vietnam and the RoK conclude free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations this year, and that the RoK further open its market for Vietnamese products, especially farm produce, fresh fruits and vegetables, to raise two-way trade to a new level.
He also asked the two countries’ labour ministries to consider signing a memorandum of understanding on an employment permit system (EPS), resuming receiving Vietnamese guest workers.
For his part, Cho said the RoK business community in Vietnam appreciated the government’s rapid response to recent social disturbances in Binh Duong and Ha Tinh provinces.
More than 3,500 RoK businesses operating in Vietnam are keen on the Vietnamese market and confident in the government’s capacity of maintaining a stable and favourable business environment for foreign investors, including those from the RoK, he said.
He voiced the RoK’s concern about recent tensions in the East Sea and called upon parties concerned to settle disputes peacefully in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).
Deputy PM Minh reiterated Vietnam’s consistent policy of supporting peace, stability and denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula.