Seoul (VNA) – The strategic cooperativepartnership between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) has become increasinglyeffective and substantive, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue told theKorean press on the occasion of his official visit to the RoK.

The following is the full text of the interview.

Reporter: Theyear 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic ties betweenVietnam and the RoK. How do you evaluate the Vietnam-RoK strategic cooperativepartnership over the past time, and development orientations in the time ahead?What will be cooperation priorities?

NA Chairman: Ialways have great affection for the RoK and its people. My last visit to thisbeautiful and hospitable country was in 2019, in my former capacity as DeputyPrime Minister. During that visit, I joined Excellency Hong Nam-ki, DeputyPrime Minister cum Minister of Economy and Finance, in co-chairing the firstVietnam- RoK Economic Dialogue at the Deputy Prime Minister-level. This time, Iam very delighted to return to the RoK, in my new capacity as President of theNational Assembly of Vietnam.

As youmay well aware, Vietnam is upholding the consistent foreign policy ofindependence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation, development, andmultilateralisation and diversification of its relations. Vietnam is strivingto be a friend, a reliable partner, and an active and responsible member of theinternational community. Bearing this in mind, Vietnam always attachesimportance and looks forward to further strengthening the ties with the RoK,especially when such relationship is well rooted in our time-tested history. LyLong Tuong (or Lee Yong-sang), then 80 years of age, still joined the Ly royalfamily and the people of Goryeo to twice fend off the invaders from the MongolEmpire. This gesture bears vivid testament to the close bond between our twocountries.

Afternearly 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, theVietnam - RoK ties have witnessed remarkable developments. Such impressiveprogress is very rare in any bilateral relationship between countries aroundthe world. Such bond has been growing ever stronger since the establishment ofthe Vietnam - RoK Strategic Cooperative Partnership in 2009. The RoK is Vietnam'stop partner in numerous fields, while Vietnam is the RoK's key partner in itsNew Southern Policy.

Regarding political relations, the Vietnam – RoKStrategic Cooperative Partnership has becoming increasingly effective andsubstantive. The political trust between the two sides has been constantlystrengthened through regular visits and contacts between high-level leaders andleaders of the two countries’ ministries, agencies and localities at all levelsunder various formats, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among which, the mostrecent are the visit to Vientam by Honorable Park Byeong Seug, Speaker of theNational Assembly of the RoK in November 2020, and other meetings and contactswithin the framework of international forums. In particular, the two sides areworking together to conduct activities to commemorate the 30th anniversary ofthe Vietnam – RoK diplomatic relations, and elevate the current StrategicCooperative Partnership to new heights.

Economic cooperation has always been a highlight and akey pillar in the two countries’ cooperation. The two sides have establishedand joined many bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms. The Vietnam- RoK Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) which took effect from December 2015 haslaid foundation for promoting stronger and more effective economic, trade andinvestment cooperation. The RoK is currently the largest FDI investor in Vietnamwith over 9,100 projects and total registered capital of 72.3 billion USD, andthe second largest trade partner with two-way trade turnover in 2020 reaching 65billion USD. The RoK is also Vietnam's second largest ODA donor, with 1.5billion USD grant committed in the 2016-2020 period alone. The two countriesare also participating in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP), and the RoK is also considering joining the Comprehensive andProgressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which Vietnamis also a member.

Culture, tourism and people-to-people exchange are lively areas ofcooperation, and help bolster mutual understanding and lay a solid groundworkfor deeper and broader collaboration between the two countries. “The KoreanWave”, through cultural, arts, film and culinary programs, has become morepopular in Vietnam. Vietnamese culture and food has also been well-known andwell-loved in the RoK. Thanks to historical and cultural similarities, Vietnamis an attractive destination for Korean tourists, with more than 4.3 millionvisits in 2019. More than 500,000 Vietnamese tourists also visited the RoK inthe same year. Every month, there are about 2,000 flights connecting variouslocalities between the two countries. Without the COVID-19 pandemic, perhapsVietnam would have received 6 million visits from Korean tourists last year.More than 200,000 national of each country are currently residing, studying andworking in the other. This number includes more than 65,000 Vietnamese – Koreanmulticultural families, who are a bridge of friendship that bring our twopeoples closer to each other.

Recently, although the COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerablehardships, the cooperation between the two countries could still able tomaintain its growth trajectory. It is during times of great need that themutual assistance and the Strategic Partnership between the countries becameeven more evident. Most remarkably, the RoK was among the first countries toprovide assistance to Vietnam in its fight against COVID-19, including medicalsupplies and vaccine doses. Vietnam has tried its utmost to accommodate theentry of tens of thousands of Korean experts and managers, and secured theeconomic operation and prevented supply chain disruptions for Korean investorsin Vietnam. The two sides are making every effort to turn the COVID-19 pandemicinto an opportunity for collaboration in new areas, especially health anddigital technology cooperation.

It can be said that over the last 30 years, the Vietnam– RoK relationship is at its most flourishing since the establishment ofdiplomatic relations. My visit to the RoK will open up a new chapter in thedevelopment of cooperation between our two countries. I am confident that ourcooperation will garner more successes, thanks to the solid foundations andachievements in our relations in nearly 30 years, geographical proximity,historical and cultural similarities, mutually reinforcing interests indevelopment cooperation, our respective leaders’ attention, and the greatefforts of our peoples and business communities.

Reporter: Howhas the COVID-19 affected the Vietnam-RoK cooperation? What measures has the VietnameseNational Assembly taken to support and attract foreign businesses in generaland Korean firms in particular? How do you think Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP) would be useful to Korea-Vietnam bilateralrelations?

NA Chairman: Inmy opinion, COVID-19 is a litmus test, one at the global scale. It will notonly put the individual to the test, but also the leadership and capacity torespond to the crisis of each country. I am quite impressed by what Israelihistorian Yuval Noah Harari said, and I quote “This storm will pass. But thechoices we make now could change our lives for years to come”. What matters isnot how severely the pandemic affects us, but how together we address thisissue.

It is undeniable that the outbreak of the COVID-19pandemic has posed numerous challenges to the regional and internationalcommunity, including Vietnam and the RoK. Many exchange and cooperationactivities between the two sides have been cancelled or postponed. Economiccooperation, people-to-people exchange and many other areas have been severelyimpacted. However, given the resolve of the high-level leaderships of the twosides, the Vietnam - RoK cooperation continues to be sustained, particularlyhigh-level and all-level exchanges. Such activities were conducted underdiverse flexible formats both physically and virtually to be in line with thenew context.

Given the complicated developments of the COVID-19pandemic, addressing difficulties and attracting investment from foreigninvestors, particularly the Korean ones, remain the top priority of Vietnam,including of the National Assembly. Vietnam has created all favorableconditions to assist foreign experts and managers, including Korean ones, insustaining their economic operation in Vietnam. This includes prioritisingvaccination for workers in Korean industrial parks and factories, ensuringpandemic containment measures, preventing the supply chain disruption of Koreanbusinesses, providing tax incentives and promptly removing emerging obstaclesand difficulties. The Vietnamese high-level leaders are involved directly insuch endeavors. H.E President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and H.E. Prime Minister PhamMinh Chinh participated in-person in the roundtables with Korean businesses.

In addition to bilateral cooperation mechanisms,within the framework of the RCEP, Vietnam and the RoK are important partnersand have finished the ratification procedures for the Agreement to come intoforce at the beginning of 2022. This is an important groundwork for Vietnam andthe RoK to strengthen our bilateral cooperation, consolidate our positions aseach other’s leading trade and investment partner, and expand our StrategicPartnership.

With the implementation of preferential tariffs (theelimination of at least 92 percent of import tariff lines between Vietnam andKorea by 2040), harmonisation of commitments and standard, and reduction ofexport procedures, the Agreement will create favorable conditions for thebusiness communities of both countries to strengthen investment and businesscooperation. We also hope that through the RCEP, Vietnamese exports can havegreater access to the RoK’s market, thus increasing imports, and encouraginghigh-quality investments from the RoK to Vietnam./.