Hanoi (VNA) –Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received visiting Foreign Minister of theRepublic of Korea (RoK) Kang Kyung-wha in Hanoi on September 17.

The Korean minister, who is on an official visitto Vietnam on September 17-18, highly valued the Vietnamese Government’sefforts to promote bilateral relations despite COVID-19 impacts, voicing herhope that the two sides will resume high-level mutual visits at an early date.

She also expressed her impression of Vietnam’scontainment of COVID-19 and efforts to carry out bilateral exchanges amid thepandemic, noting that a large number of Koreans are wishing to enter Vietnamfor investment and business purposes and so are many Vietnamese.

The RoK is ready to facilitate entry forVietnamese people in the current context, Kang said, adding that she hopes thetwo countries will soon reach consensus on special entry procedures so as tofurther facilitate Korean experts and entrepreneurs’ entry into Vietnam.

The official suggested both countries soon signan agreement on social insurance to better ensure employees’ interests. Shealso proposed Vietnam include the RoK in the reference country list in biddingfor medical equipment procurement as her country has strength in producinginternational-standard medical equipment.

Appreciating the minister’s opinions, PM Phucaffirmed that the best possible conditions will be provided for Korean expertsand entrepreneurs to enter Vietnam.

Vietnam supports the RoK’s New Southern Policyand hopes that the two sides will maintain high-level exchanges on the basis ofensured pandemic prevention and control, thereby bolstering bilateralcooperation, he said.

The Government leader asked the RoK to coordinateto carry out effective measures and create favourable procedures so that thecountries can reach the trade target of 100 billion USD in the near future andbalance bilateral trade.

Many major Korean businesses have been operatingsuccessfully in Vietnam, thus contributing to bilateral ties, he noted,affirming the Vietnamese Government’s attention to all opinions from Koreanfirms.

At the meeting, the PM also voiced his hope thatthe RoK will reduce and then eliminate binding conditions for its ODA andconcessional loans while expanding non-refundable aid for Vietnam, receive moreVietnamese guest workers, and provide more support for the Vietnamese communityin the RoK, especially amid the current COVID-19 pandemic.

In terms of the East Sea issue, he hoped the RoKwill keep supporting Vietnam and ASEAN’s stance in this regard, includingmaintaining peace and stability, ensuring safety and security of navigation andoverflight in the waters, and respecting international law, particularly the1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea./.