Korean expert hails positive results of Vietnamese diplomacy in 2023

The year 2023 is seen as a special year for Vietnamese diplomacy with numerous events marking the nation’s relations with important partners and traditional friends.

2023 is also the first year of carrying out the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Regarding the progress of Vietnamese diplomacy in 2023, Dr. Beak Yong-hun touched upon the events of Vietnam upgrading relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership with the US in May 2020) and with Japan in November.

​Along with the previously established comprehensive strategic partnership frameworks with China, Russia and the RoK, new developments in 2023 show that Vietnam is continuing to pursue a balanced foreign policy, imbued with the identity of "bamboo diplomacy".

According to Dr. Beak Yong-hun, strengthening diplomatic relations with the US and Japan helps Vietnam step up cooperation in multiple areas such as trade, technology, cultural exchange. culture and human resources, opening up new opportunities for Vietnam to boost economic development.

​ In the context of US-China trade competition, Vietnam's strategic role as an important link in the global supply chain is being further promoted. Vietnam is considered a good destination for foreign investment attraction into Southeast Asia.

Dr. Beak Yong-hun also said that Vietnam's foreign affairs results and the upgrading of relations have shown clear effects in the fields of trade and investment, infrastructure development, and human resources development and maritime security.

By affirming its position, Vietnam is also increasingly strengthening its leading role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. By affirming its position, Vietnam is also increasingly enhancing its leading role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Dr. Beak Yong-hun assessed that an important result in upgrading relations between Vietnam and the US is that the two sides agreed to cooperate in developing science and technology and the semiconductor industry.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two countries, which affirms strengthening partnerships to improve the semiconductor ecosystem and cooperate in the supply of rare earth materials used in smartphones and electric vehicle batteries, laying the foundation for Vietnam to become a global semiconductor manufacturing base.

Along with that, Vietnam will have favorable conditions to develop the training of highly skilled human resources, digital economy and green economy, while also focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), energy transition and healthcare.

In relations with Japan, economic cooperation, human resource exchange and cooperation to combat climate change are also contents of the agreement in addition to economic cooperation.

The two sides also consented to expand cooperation in the fields of maritime security and technology transfer.

Dr. Beak Yong-hun said that cooperation with Vietnam helps Japan diversify its supply chain, thus reducing dependence on China, while in the opposite direction, Vietnam can also diversify its markets and supply sources, and reducing excessive dependence on one partner.

2023 is the first year Vietnam and the RoK implement the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The cooperation plan to implement a comprehensive strategic relationship includes strengthening diplomatic and security cooperation, expanding trade exchanges, stepping up cooperation in the supply chain of important minerals and expanding the RoK’s aid for Vietnam.

The two countries have signed 17 agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs). At the RoK - Vietnam Business Forum held in June 2023 during President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to Vietnam, up to 111 MOUs were signed covering the fields of trade, science and technology.

According to Dr. Beak Yong-hun's assessment, the major achievements in 2023 in bilateral relations must include mechanisms to ramp up strategic cooperation in the fields of diplomacy and security, such as organizing annual meetings of defense and foreign ministers between the two countries.

The two sides also signed an agreement on joint research on important minerals between the RoK and Vietnam as well as bolstering supply chain cooperation.

One of the outstanding achievements is the establishment of a forward-looking cooperation platform between companies and organizations in healthcare, electric vehicle, high-tech industry and energy sectors.

From the perspective of Dr. Beak Yong-hun, although there are still limitations, overall the bilateral relationship still has a positive trend.

Therefore, it is necessary to promote and have an official information exchange channel to help minimize false and negative information related to economic issues and multicultural families, while intensifying positive information to step up communication and deepen mutual understanding.

According to Dr. Beak Yong-hun, regarding cooperation towards the future, the role of the young generation of the two countries is very important, contributing to promoting the bilateral relationship between Vietnam and the RoK.

Supporting Vietnamese and Vietnamese studies is also crucial for promoting further interest in Vietnamese language and Vietnamese people in the RoK.

Vietnam is also the most favorite tourist destination of Koreans, so this is a channel to help people of the two countries meet and enhance mutual understanding.

Appreciating the role of culture in strengthening a country's image internationally and diplomatic relations with other countries, Dr. Beak Yong-hun emphasized that cultural diplomacy is an important field in the three pillar of Vietnam's foreign policy and has been widely deployed at many levels.

Cultural diplomacy is carried out in conjunction with political diplomacy activities such as high-level visits by Party and State leaders, and high-level meetings attended by leaders of major countries around the world as well as international forums and conferences.

According to Dr. Beak Yong-hun, in addition to promoting traditional culture, it is necessary to invest in cultural industry for new fields and genres.

This requires not only the cultural diplomacy of the state but also the need to intensify resources from businesses and localities to help the country's image be widely popularized, thus further promoting " soft power" of culture, he added.