Special Vietnam cooperation mark

Three highlights

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit takes place in the context of Vietnam-Korea relations developing at their best ever. Political trust between the two countries has been increasingly consolidated; defense and security cooperation continues to deepen; local cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries have been constantly expanded.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visiting Vietnam in June 2023

Vietnam and South Korea have become each other's top important partners. South Korea is the largest partner in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) with 87 billion USD of registered capital as of April, accounting for 18.25% of total FDI in Vietnam. Bilateral trade turnover in 2023 reached 76.1 billion USD. In the first 4 months of the year, export turnover between the two countries reached 25.5 billion USD, up 4% over the same period in 2023.

Korea has a very deep relationship with Vietnam, not only is it a leading economic partner but it is also a country with a large number of Vietnamese people living, working and studying with 250,000 people. In contrast, the Korean community in Vietnam has more than 150,000 people. The two countries' communities have contributed a lot to socio-economic development and play the role of a bridge of friendship for the relationship between the two countries.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu commented that the official visit to South Korea by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife is extremely important, with three outstanding highlights.

Firstly, the visit demonstrates the importance of the leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Korea, expressing the desire to concretize the implementation of agreements between the two countries' senior leaders and most recently the Action Program to implement the Vietnam - Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, signed in June 2023 after the two countries upgraded their relations.

Second, the visit will be an opportunity for both sides to review new developments in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries, discuss strategic issues, national defense and security, economic cooperation, trade, investment, people-to-people exchanges, cooperation at multilateral forums as well as other key areas. Bring the bilateral relationship to a new height with higher political trust, more substantive and comprehensive cooperation. The exchange and understanding between the people of the two countries will become deeper and closer.

Third, in the context of the rapidly evolving and complicated international and regional situation, the visit aims to affirm Vietnam's foreign policy of continuing to attach importance to the friendly and cooperative relationship with Korea, and wishing to contribute to maintaining and promoting peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

Raising bilateral turnover to 100 billion USD

Economy is the highlight of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to South Korea, accounting for more than half of the more than 30 activities in the four days from June 30 to July 3. In addition to official programs with senior Korean leaders, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will attend and speak at three forums, including a business forum, a forum to promote tourism and cultural cooperation, and a Vietnam-South Korea labor forum.

In particular, the Prime Minister will also attend two seminars, including a seminar with leaders of Korean economic organizations and a seminar with Korean intellectuals and scientists on semiconductors and artificial intelligence. The Prime Minister will also meet with representatives of leaders of some leading Korean economic groups investing in Vietnam. In addition, the Prime Minister will also visit the Vietnamese Embassy in Korea and meet with representatives of the Vietnamese community in Korea; visit a Vietnamese-Korean multicultural family, deliver a policy speech at Seoul National University and visit the Samsung Group's semiconductor factory in Pyeongtaek City, Gyeonggi Province.

According to Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Choi Young Sam, green transformation is an important "key" for the sustainable development of the relationship between the two countries. Vietnam is one of Korea's most important cooperation partners with the signing of the "Korea - Vietnam Climate Change Cooperation Framework Agreement" in 2021. This is also the first climate change cooperation agreement that Korea has signed with another country.

Currently, Korea is a developed country with many strengths in economic development, high technology, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence. Through diverse activities with the Korean economic sector during this visit, Vietnam hopes that the two sides will improve the quality and quantity of economic, trade, investment cooperation and supply chain diversification; strengthen cooperation in future fields such as semiconductors, supporting industries, digital transformation, green transformation, circular economy, and climate change response; promote labor cooperation, cultural industry, and tourism cooperation between the two countries.

Thereby, the two sides can realize the goal of soon increasing bilateral trade turnover to 100 billion USD and aiming for 150 billion USD by 2030 in a balanced and sustainable manner, and contribute to realizing the strategic vision of national development with the goal of becoming a high-income developed country of Vietnam by 2045.

Vietnam continues to be a top priority partner, receiving about 20% of Korea's total aid, averaging over 500 million USD annually, of which 90% is ODA loans and 10% is non-refundable aid. Vietnam - Korea development cooperation is prioritized in areas such as urban transport infrastructure, healthcare, education and training, environment; clean energy, information technology, etc.

In 2023, the number of Korean tourists to Vietnam will reach 3.6 million, ranking first among international visitors to Vietnam; the number of Vietnamese tourists to Korea will reach more than 500,000. In the first 4 months of 2024, Korea is still the largest tourist market to Vietnam with 1.6 million arrivals, accounting for 25.8% of the total number of international visitors to Vietnam.

Regarding labor cooperation, the two sides signed an extension of the Memorandum of Understanding on sending and receiving Vietnamese workers to work in Korea under the Korean Employment Permit System (EPS) in June 2023, effective for 2 years from the date of signing. In 2023, nearly 9,400 EPS workers and 11,000 seasonal Vietnamese workers entered Korea.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dau-an-hop-tac-dac-biet-viet-nam-han-quoc-185240629215852743.htm