HCMC – South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung Wha said the South Korean Government attaches importance to its relationship with Vietnam, a major partner in its New Southern Policy and pledged to further support the country in performing its roles as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council during the 2020-2021 term and the ASEAN Chair in 2020.
Wha made the statement during her talks with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh during the South Korean minister’s official visit to Vietnam on September 17 and 18.
Kang also lauded Vietnam’s efforts in containing Covid-19 and the country’s role as the ASEAN Chair amid the difficulties caused by the pandemic.
The South Korean minister expressed hope that Vietnam would reap more socio-economic and diplomatic achievements in the upcoming time.
She added that South Korea will team up with Vietnam to ramp up the implementation of high-level agreements effectively, contributing to advancing the bilateral strategic cooperative partnership.
She also spoke highly of Vietnam’s decision to resume commercial flights to South Korea and suggested the two nations increase the flight frequency in the time to come.
She called on Vietnam to facilitate the entry of South Korean businesspeople under Covid-19 prevention and control regulations, aimed at further tightening bilateral economic, trade and investment ties.
Deputy PM Minh said the visit is significant in promoting cooperation between the two countries. Kang is also the first foreign guest to make an official visit to Vietnam since the outbreak of Covid-19.
Minh proposed pushing ahead with the resumption of visits by the leaders of the two countries and effectively maintaining dialogue.
Minh stressed that Vietnam always attaches importance to its relationship with South Korea and wishes to tighten collaboration to bolster the bilateral strategic cooperative partnership more practically, especially when the two countries are heading toward the 30th anniversary celebration of their diplomatic ties in 2022.
Even though the pandemic has upended all aspects of socioeconomic life, the two countries have flexibly maintained all-level exchanges and cooperation in various fields, particularly the economy, he said.
In addition, Minh suggested the South Korean Government facilitate the export of Vietnamese agro products to South Korea, starting with pomelo and red-flesh dragon fruit, while helping this Southeast Asian nation join South Korea’s value chains in South Korea and globally, contributing to raising two-way trade to US$100 billion soon.
The two sides agreed to encourage South Korean firms to invest and expand their businesses in Vietnam. South Korea will further expand its non-refundable aid to Vietnam and support official development assistance infrastructure projects in response to climate change.
Moreover, the two nations consented to tightening cooperation in healthcare and extending a memorandum of understanding reached in 2018 on sending Vietnamese workers to and receiving them in South Korea.
As for international and regional issues, the two sides will maintain close coordination and effective cooperation over multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations, ASEAN, APEC, ASEM, WTO, and Mekong. They will also continue their cooperation in the fight against natural disasters and diseases, especially the current coronavirus outbreak.
They also highlighted efforts in promoting dialogue and peacefully addressing the nuclear issue in the Korean Peninsula. Both countries pledged their support to maintaining peace, stable security and the peaceful settlement of the East Sea issue in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
