Seoul (VNA) – Party General Secretary To Lam and President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Lee Jae Myung co-chaired a joint press briefing in Seoul on August 11 to share the outcomes of their talks, held as part of the former’s ongoing state visit to the RoK.

General Secretary Lam stated that the two sides had just concluded a highly successful discussion.

After more than 30 years of development, the Vietnam – RoK relationship has become a model of particularly good one with outstanding and comprehensive achievements, particularly since the elevation of bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in December 2022, he noted.

The Vietnamese leader emphasised that political trust between the two nations has been unceasingly reinforced, while cooperation across all areas has grown increasingly substantive and effective, and people-to-people exchanges have become more vibrant.

For his part, President Lee highlighted that the visit by General Secretary Lam, accompanied by his spouse and a high-level Vietnamese delegation, has helped strengthen bilateral ties. During the talks, both sides had in-depth discussions on domestic developments, bilateral relations, as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern, reaching consensus on numerous important areas.

The RoK President expressed his hope that the two sides will continue to forge cooperation across multiple fields, bringing tangible benefits to both peoples.

At the press conference, General Secretary Lam and President Lee emphasised that in the spirit of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the two sides had discussed and reached consensus on several major directions to further advance bilateral relations in the coming time.

They agreed to continue expanding cooperation between their Parties, States, Governments, and parliaments to give timely strategic directions and create a favourable political foundation to expand collaboration across all fields. They also agreed to strengthen practical cooperation in key areas such as diplomacy, defence, and security; and work together in addressing non-traditional security issues, including transnational crime, cybercrime, and drug trafficking.

The two leaders were unanimous in the expansion of the investment scale in conjunction with substantive collaboration in technology, with priority given to such areas as infrastructure development, high-tech electronic equipment manufacturing, semiconductor, artificial intelligence (AI), renewable energy, smart city building, and the construction of specialised industrial production complexes as part of value chains.

They also reaffirmed their commitment to facilitating trade and market access for each other's goods, aiming to help achieve the trade target of 150 billion USD by 2030. In addition, collaboration will be focused on developing strategic transport infrastructure, energy infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and infrastructure for climate change adaptation.

The leaders noted that the two sides had agreed to turn scientific and technological cooperation into a pillar and a new highlight of bilateral relations. They will actively encourage relevant agencies to boost collaboration in science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, and high-quality human resources training – particularly in the development of strategic technological industries and products. They also concurred in broadening cooperation in emerging and breakthrough fields such as advanced electronic equipment manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and renewable energy to meet the development needs of both sides. The two sides agreed to enhance joint efforts in culture, education, and people-to-people exchanges, thereby laying a solid foundation for long-term companionship between the two countries and promoting exchanges between their peoples and localities. The leaders expressed their confidence that the Vietnam – RoK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will continue to grow in a substantive, effective, and sustainable manner for the benefit of their peoples, thereby contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world./.