Hanoi (VNA) – Foreign Minister BuiThanh Son on November 1 hosted First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs ofthe Republic of Korea (RoK) Chang Ho-jin on the occasion of hisvisit to Vietnam to co-chair the 5th deputy foreign ministerial level strategic dialogue on diplomacy, security and defence between the two countries.

Son highlighted the fruitful development of bilateral relations, especially inpolitics, diplomacy, trade, and investment since the two countries upgradedtheir ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022.

He emphasised the need tofoster the role of this dialogue mechanism, suggesting orientations to effectivelyimplement agreements between high-ranking leaders in general, and the two ministries inparticular.

Regarding future cooperation orientations, Son suggested the two ministries promotedelegation exchanges and work together to realise an action plan on the implementation of the Vietnam-RoK comprehensivestrategic partnership.

He called on the RoK to support Vietnam in improving its maritimelaw enforcement capability, contribute to programmes to overcome post-war consequences,promote balanced and stable trade cooperation between the two nations, and enhancepeople-to-people and youth exchange and education cooperation.

Son urged the RoK side to expand investment in Vietnam, particularlyin priority areas such as infrastructure development, high-tech electronics andsemiconductor manufacturing, and biotechnology.

For his part, the RoK official affirmed commitments to effectivelyimplementing the agreements reached between high-ranking leaders of the twocountries, as well as cooperation in important areas such as politics, defence -security, trade, and investment. He stated that Vietnam plays a vital role inhis country’s foreign policy and the ASEAN-RoK relations.

The two sides should further expand substantive cooperationin areas of economic security, high technology, and other potential areas ofcooperation, he said.


The same day, Permanent Deputy Minister ofForeign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu and Chang Ho-jin co-chaired the 5th deputy-ministeriallevel strategic dialogue on diplomacy, security and defencebetween Vietnam and the RoK, during which the two sides discussed strategicissues in the bilateral relationship as well as international and regionalmatters of common concern.

They acknowledged with pleasure that the bilateral relationshiphas recorded breakthrough developments over the last 30 years, the politicaltrust been strengthened, cooperation in various areas become moresubstantial, and the friendship and understanding between the two countries’ people been growing deeper.

The two sides agreed to further boost delegationexchanges and high-level meetings, and cooperation in the Party, Government, andparliament channels; intensify defence-security cooperation in line with thepotential and framework of the upgraded relationship between the two countries;and launch a maritime dialogue mechanism at the general director level betweenthe two foreign ministries.

The RoK side pledged to further open its market to Vietnam's key exportproducts and their entry into the supply chains of the Asian nation, towards achievingthe goal of lifting two-way trade to 100 billion USD, even 150 billion USD in 2030.

The two sides agreed to continue their effective cooperation inimplementing the KoreaEconomic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) and the Economic Development Promotion Facility (EDPF) to perform large-scale investment projects in Vietnam's transportation and urbaninfrastructure sectors.

Regarding global and regional issues, both officials affirmedtheir commitment to enhancing cooperation to realise a vision of building aninternational system based on the rule of the law with the UN Charter at its centre.The two side also agreed to boost collaboration at international and regionalforums, especially at the UN and within the ASEAN – RoK relations.

Chang Ho-jinaffirmed that the RoK Foreign Ministry will closely collaborate with itsVietnamese counterpart to seek breakthrough and strategic solutions topromote the development of each country, and strongly and substantively intensifythe RoK – Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership in the future, thus contributingto peace, stability, and development in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean./.