Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese Minister of Foreign AffairsBui Thanh Son and his Korean counterpart Park Jin held talks over the phone on July13, as the two nations are celebrating the 30th founding anniversary of theirdiplomatic relations (December 22, 1992-2022).

Expressing their delight at the robust growth of thebilateral ties, the ministers agreed to coordinate with each other to promote the exchange of delegations and meetings at all levels in various flexible forms;as well as activities to celebrate the 30th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties.

They consented to focus on promoting practical cooperation in defence, security and bilateral and multilateral cooperationmechanisms; and implementing effective measures to fulfill the goal of raising bilateral trade to 100 billion USD by 2023, and 150 billion by 2030 in abalanced and sustainable manner, in which increasing the volume of Vietnam'sexports to the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Itis also necessary to encourage Korean enterprises to invest more in Vietnam's spearheadedindustrial fields and transfer technology to Vietnam, the diplomats said,adding that the countries will further cooperate closely in science andtechnology, including the implementation of the second phase of the Vietnam –Korea Institute of Science and Technology (VKIST) project.

Strengtheningcollaboration in health, especially in disease prevention, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic, is also important, they noted.

Son affirmed his willingness to coordinatewith the RoK's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to bring the two countries' strategiccooperative partnership to a new height; and suggested the RoK's Governmentcontinue to maintain and increase big loans with preferential conditions forVietnam, and offer more support for Vietnamese citizens living, studying andworking in the country.

Lauding Vietnam’s achievements in COVID-19 preventionand control and socio-economic development, Park affirmed that the RoKconsiders Vietnam a leading important partner in the region and wishes to develop strongly the bilateral relations in the coming time.

He suggested the Vietnamese Government furthercreate favourable conditions for Korean businesses, especially Korean financialinstitutions and banks, to expand investment in Vietnam.

The two ministers agreed to continue to closelycooperate and support each other in solving international and regional issuesof mutual concern; andto coordinate to help Vietnam successfully undertake the role of coordinatorfor ASEAN-RoK relations for 2021-2024.

They also agreed to maintain peace, stability,security, safety, cooperation and development in the East Sea; continue tosupport the building of a practical and effective Code of Conduct (COC)that respects the interests of relevant stakeholders in the East Sea in line withinternational law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Sontook this occasion to invite the Korean minister to visit Vietnam at anappropriate time in the future and thanked Park for his invitation to make a trip to the RoK./.