Seoul (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s ongoing official visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) as well as cooperation between Vietnam and the East Asian nation has grabbed headlines of local media.

Many newspapers in the RoK covered a business forum held in Seoul on July 1 on the occasion of the Vietnamese leader’s trip from June 30 to July 3.

The independent news agency Newsis cited Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun as saying at the forum that the two countries should expand their investment and trade ties to consumer goods, services and infrastructure, among others, apart from intermediate goods.

He also emphasised measures to boost the bilateral trade, towards the target of 150 billion USD by 2030.

The official suggested the connection between Vietnam’s core minerals like rare earths and the RoK’s cutting-edge technologies, adding the RoK is working on the establishment of a centre of core mineral supply chains in the Southeast Asian nation, scheduled to be put into service next year.

Ahn said the two countries boast potential for collaboration in energy and nuclear power.

Newsis also mentioned the exchange of 23 cooperation documents between ministries, agencies, localities, and businesses of the two countries in various spheres, from investment and trade to energy transition, biotechnology, the construction of industrial parks, semiconductor, health care, pharmacy, aviation, logistics, information technology, and mechanics.

It quoted PM Chinh as saying that Vietnam stands ready to cooperate with Korean firms in such areas as semiconductor, artificial intelligence (AI) and hydro energy.

Meanwhile, the website mk.co.kr said following the establishment of the Vietnam-RoK comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022, the forum is expected to enhance economic cooperation between the two countries.

Highlighting the bilateral trade and investment ties, Chosun Ilbo newspaper said the RoK’s investments in Vietnam reach 87 billion USD, and that 19 big Korean groups and companies have signed MoUs with 18 Vietnamese enterprises and government agencies, and decided to expand operation to the fields of new and renewable energy, and semiconductor.

According to Hankuk Kyungje newspaper, Vietnamese and Korean leaders and businesses have decided to expand investment and trade in digital transformation, and cooperate in developing supply chains.

The Yonhap 🍬News Agency said among the 146 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, the RoK stands as the largest, and that the Vietnamese Government has been working hard to lure investments to the semiconductor sector./.