Seoul (VNA) – National AssemblyChairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will visit the Republic of Korea (RoK) fromDecember 4 to 7, an occasion for the two sides to look back on theirachievements over the last 26 years and set plans for the future of bilateralties.

Speaking to Vietnam News Agency ahead of thetrip, Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Nguyen Vu Tu said this is the first timeNgan has made an official visit to the Northeast Asian nation as leader of theVietnamese parliament.

The tour takes place amid the countries’thriving partnership in all spheres. However, there remains much room toenhance cooperation, he said.

Vietnam always wants to intensify its friendshipwith the RoK which is promoting the New Southern Policy, in which Vietnam isconsidered an important partner.

The two sides are realising the outcomes of theVietnam visit by RoK President Moon Jae-in last March, he noted.

Highlighting the foundation of bilateralrelations, Tu said the countries share many cultural and historical similarities,complementary economies and a strong friendship.

The diplomat expressed his belief that withexisting advantages and thorough preparations by both sides, Chairwoman Ngan’svisit will be successful, thus strengthening political trust between theirleaders and the friendship between the two peoples. It will also drivebilateral relations to develop.

Since diplomatic ties were set up in 1992, greatstrides have been made in their connections in all areas, from politics,defence, security, economy to culture, tourism and people-to-people exchange.

He said the two countries have high politicaltrust bolstered through regular exchanges of high-ranking delegations.

The RoK is currently the biggest foreigninvestor in Vietnam with a total registered direct investment of some 65billion USD poured into more than 7,000 projects as of October this year. 

It is the second largest trade partner of theSoutheast Asian nation, which in turn ranks fourth among the RoK’s tradepartners. Bilateral trade topped 60 billion USD in 2017, partly thanks to theVietnam-RoK Free Trade Agreement taking effect in December 2015. 

The RoK is also the second biggest officialdevelopment assistance provider for Vietnam, with 1.5 billion USD committed for2016 – 2020.

[Video: RoK to grant five-year tourist visa to V𝔉ietnamese residents]

Cultural and people-to-people exchanges havealso developed considerably, Tu said, citing the many cultural events that havebeen held over the years.

There are more than 180,000 Vietnamese people inthe RoK while Korean citizens also number over 160,000 in Vietnam. They havecontributed to each country’s development as well as bilateral cooperation, hesaid.

In 2017, some 2.5 million Koreans and 320,000Vietnamese visited each other’s countries. More than 400,000 Vietnamesetourists chose the RoK for their holiday in the first 10 months of this year.

The ambassador added another highlight inbilateral relations is their close coordination in regional and global issues.They have worked closely at international organisations and multilateral forumslike the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation, the Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation forum, the Asia-Europe Meeting and regional cooperationmechanisms like the Mekong-RoK, ASEAN-RoK, ASEAN Plus Three, ASEAN RegionalForum and East Asia Summit.

They have cooperated in regional and globalaffairs like sustainable development, climate change response, non-proliferationof weapons of mass destruction; and shared a common stance on resolvingterritorial and sea disputes by peaceful means, adhering to international law,respecting and protecting navigation and aviation freedom in the Asia-Pacific.

Ambassador Tu also suggested ways to foster tiesin certain areas.

He said on the basis of the bilateral free tradeagreement, the two sides should expand trade turnover to 100 billion USD in2020, while also working towards balanced trade by the RoK importing moreVietnamese goods. 

Meanwhile, RoK businesses should be encouragedto invest more in Vietnam, including infrastructure development, hightechnology and renewable energy. They should also pay more attention totransferring technology, developing supporting industries and creatingconditions for Vietnamese firms to join their global production and supplychains, Tu said.

He also called for better coordination to carryout reached agreements. The two countries need to facilitate people-to-peoplediplomacy through cultural and educational activities and youth exchange tohelp consolidate their friendship.

Both sides also need to create more favourableconditions for more Vietnamese and Korean students to study in each other’scountries because they are the core force contributing to bilateral relationsin the next two and three decades.

Cooperation between massorganisations should also be tightened to assist Vietnamese and Koreanexpatriate communities in the other country, Tu said, pledging that his embassywill work with RoK agencies and localities to step up people-to-people ties.-VNA