Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (right) and his RoK counterpart Chung Eui-yong. (Photo: VNA) Seoul (VNA) – The upcoming officialvisit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) by Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son isexpected to contribute to fostering relations between Vietnam and the RoK,towards a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, VietnameseAmbassador Nguyen Vu Tung has said.
Son will pay an official visit to the RoK and attendthe Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)-run SoutheastAsia Regional Programme (SEARP) ministerial meeting from February 9-11 at the invitationof his RoK counterpart Chung Eui-yong and OECD Secretary General MathiasCormann.
This is the first visit to the RoK by a Vietnamese foreign minister over the past five years, and also the first by Son after his appointmentto the position, the ambassador told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), adding that the visitopens up activities marking the 30th anniversary of the bilateraldiplomatic ties (1992-2022).
Given complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic,the visit demonstrates the resolve to maintain and boost the bilateralrelationship, he noted.
According to the diplomat, Son will hold workingsessions with officials of the RoK, during which they will look into thecelebration of the diplomatic ties, and orientations for the relations asagreed by senior leaders of the two countries.
Priority cooperation areas would bepolitics-diplomacy, national defence-security, economy and social affairs, forpeace, stability, collaboration and development of the two countries, SoutheastAsia, Northeast Asia and other regions.
The two sides will work to consolidate the existing cooperationspheres and open up new ones, while restoring those disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Son is scheduled to meet with representatives of theVietnamese community in the RoK, the ambassador said.
The minister will attend the OECD-run Southeast AsiaRegional Programme (SEARP), to be hosted by the RoK, in his capacityas the co-chair of the programme for 2022-2025.
As coordinator for the ASEAN-RoK relations for2020-2023, Son will also engage in discussions with Korean partners in thisregard.
Son will pay an official visit to the RoK and attendthe Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)-run SoutheastAsia Regional Programme (SEARP) ministerial meeting from February 9-11 at the invitationof his RoK counterpart Chung Eui-yong and OECD Secretary General MathiasCormann.
This is the first visit to the RoK by a Vietnamese foreign minister over the past five years, and also the first by Son after his appointmentto the position, the ambassador told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), adding that the visitopens up activities marking the 30th anniversary of the bilateraldiplomatic ties (1992-2022).
Given complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic,the visit demonstrates the resolve to maintain and boost the bilateralrelationship, he noted.
According to the diplomat, Son will hold workingsessions with officials of the RoK, during which they will look into thecelebration of the diplomatic ties, and orientations for the relations asagreed by senior leaders of the two countries.
Priority cooperation areas would bepolitics-diplomacy, national defence-security, economy and social affairs, forpeace, stability, collaboration and development of the two countries, SoutheastAsia, Northeast Asia and other regions.
The two sides will work to consolidate the existing cooperationspheres and open up new ones, while restoring those disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Son is scheduled to meet with representatives of theVietnamese community in the RoK, the ambassador said.
The minister will attend the OECD-run Southeast AsiaRegional Programme (SEARP), to be hosted by the RoK, in his capacityas the co-chair of the programme for 2022-2025.
As coordinator for the ASEAN-RoK relations for2020-2023, Son will also engage in discussions with Korean partners in thisregard.
Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tung in an interview with Vietnam News Agency (Photo: VNA) The trip would bring about new cooperativeopportunities and sectors between Vietnam and the RoK in efforts to promote multilateralismand strengthen multilateral cooperation mechanisms, including ASEAN and the RoK’sNew Southern Policy Plus.
Tung said despite the COVID-19 pandemic, theVietnam-RoK relationship has maintained its development pace, as reflectedthrough the exchange of delegations, along with online talks and meetings.
Major cooperative areas have been maintained, hesaid, citing two-way trade of 70.38 billion USD as of November 2021, up 20percent year-on-year.
Last year, the RoK was Vietnam’s second largestinvestor with total capital reaching 7.4 billion USD, a rise of 85 percent from2020. The RoK continued to be Vietnam’s second biggest development assistancesupplier with a commitment of 1.5 billion USD in 2016-2020.
Apart from close coordination at multilateralforums, Vietnam and the RoK have supported each other in emergencies, theambassador noted.
The Government and people of the RoK presented more than1.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Vietnam. Meanwhile, businesses andfriendship organisations of the RoK contributed over 20 million USD to Vietnam’sCOVID-19 vaccine fund.
Cooperation development has helped to boost mutualunderstanding and trust between the two countries, as well as their localitiesand people, creating a foundation for the two sides to advance theirrelationship.
The ambassador held that Vietnam and the RoK haveyet to fully tap their cooperation potential, and the two countries, therefore,aim to raise the bilateral trade to 100 billion USD by 2023 and 150 billion USDby 2030.
Regarding the celebration of the bilateraldiplomatic ties, Tung said there will be a wide range of activities on thisoccasion, including the exchange of visits and congratulatory messages, andcultural, art and sport activities./.
VNA
