Fresh impetus to boost Vietnam-RoK co-operation

Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Nguyen Vu Tung made the remark during a recent media conference held ahead of the visit by the Korean President at the invitation of Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong.

Highlighting the significance of the trip, the Vietnamese Ambassador stated that it will mark an important milestone in terms of relations between both nations’ leaders, thereby helping to achieve stronger exchanges between ministries, sectors, localities, businesses, and people of the two countries.

Vietnam places importance on the joint co-operation within Vietnam’s overall development strategy, as well as the country’s foreign policy, the diplomat said.

Mutual relations are based on two main pillars, trust and mutual co-operation, Ambassador Tung said, adding that the visit aims to strengthen both trust and mutual benefits. High-level visits and exchanges have always been means to consolidate trust between the two sides, he said.

The specific outcomes of the visit are expected to pave the way for lifting bilateral ties between the two countries to new heights within the framework of the comprehensive strategic partnership, thereby contributing to bringing benefits to localities, businesses, and people of each nation, Ambassador Tung said.

The visit is expected to create fresh momentum for comprehensive co-operation between the two countries this year, ranging from politics and diplomacy to security, defence, economics, education - training, science - technology, culture, sports, tourism, labour, and people-to-people exchanges.

The RoK is currently in the process of intensifying several notable policies, including the Global Pivotal State (GPS), the Indo-Pacific Strategy, and the ASEAN-Korea Solidarity Initiative. Therefore, the Vietnamese side’s hosting of the RoK President also sends out a message of the nation’s support for and trust that the RoK Government and its people will successfully implement their policies and development goals in the future. These efforts will contribute to peace, prosperity, and stability of the region and the world as a whole.

The visit will take place amid an unpredictable geopolitical and economic context in recent times, highlighting the importance of the Vietnam-RoK co-operation across a variety of fields, Ambassador Tung stressed.

Joint relations have recorded great progress across multiple fields over the last 30 years, from politics - diplomacy, security - defence, to economics and culture, the Vietnamese diplomat said, noting that links have transitioned from "overlapping interest" to a higher level, known as "intertwining interest”.

The political relations, mutual trust, and understanding between high-level leaders of the two countries have always been strengthened throughout different periods, duly serving as a solid foundation to deepen bilateral relations across various fields.

The two countries have more opportunities to boost ties as bilateral and multilateral co-operation frameworks and mechanisms have been strengthened, trust deepened, and people-to-people relations cemented, he noted.

Since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties in 1992, the two countries have upgraded their relationship twice, from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic cooperative partnership in 2009, growing to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022. The two countries’ high-ranking leaders have maintained regular exchanges of delegations and visits, whilst mechanisms for dialogue and co-operation have been established and operated stably across a variety of areas.

The Vietnamese diplomat underlined the vital role in terms of economic co-operation in the bilateral relationship, stating that economic ties have been rapidly progressing and the two countries have become top important economic partners of each other in various sectors.

The RoK remains the largest foreign investor in the Vietnamese market and the third biggest trade partner of the nation. Its trade with the country ranks first in ASEAN, accounting for 45% to 50% of the Northeast Asian nation’s total trade with the bloc.
Strengthening people-to-people exchanges between the two nations can be seen as the basis for promoting economic, cultural, and educational co-operation, as well as relationships between their localities, Ambassador Tung stressed.

The successful ties between the two countries have brought about a new position for each other at regional and global forums, he said, noting that there is great potential for the two sides to expand linkages if they can fully tap into the comprehensive strategic relationship.

The two sides should therefore continue to exploit the complementarity of the two economies from the perspective of human resources and labour, value chains and supply chains, technology transfer, and trade balance, the Ambassador said.

He suggested the two sides expand their partnership in new areas, such as climate change response, digital transformation, green development, clean energy, supply chain stability, defence industry co-operation, co-ordination within the framework of trade agreements and mechanisms, as well as people-to-people exchanges.