Leaders of Ho Chi Minh City received new Ambassador of the Republic of Korea (RoK) to Vietnam Park Noh-wan on December 22.

Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen (R) meets with
the RoK's Ambassador to Vietnam Park Noh-wan on December 22 (Photo: VNA)

Meeting with the Korean diplomat, Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen highly valued the outcomes of the RoK’s cooperation with Vietnam in general and HCM City in particular.

He welcomed the RoK’s cooperation in waste and water treatment, human resources training, and the Long Thanh International Airport project, adding that HCM City is planning to apply the online bidding model, a new bidding model using technology – an area the RoK has strengths.

Nen applauded Korean businesses’ moves to invest in new sectors like the Mekong water resources management, mangrove forest degradation prevention, and aquaculture in the Mekong Delta.

The official also expressed his hope that with its strengths in technology, the RoK will cooperate with HCM City in digital transformation.

Later the same day, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong met with the Korean ambassador.

Phong welcomed Park’s proposal to organise an online investment conference between HCM City’s leaders and Korean enterprises in February 2021.

The upcoming event is set to seek cooperation and investment chances in urban infrastructure, smart city building, and digital economy.

Phong expressed his hope that via this conference, obstacles will be removed in a timely manner to help HCM City improve its investment climate.

Regarding procedures for the Eco Smart City project in the Thu Thien new urban area, the CJ Cau Tre food processing factory, and a residential area in District 9, which are invested by the RoK, he pledged that municipal authorities will provide the maximum support for these projects to be carried out quickly.

For his part, Park highly valued the city’s achievements in the COVID-19 combat.

With the quarantine-free protocol for short-term entries into Vietnam, to be applied as from January 1 next year, he also thanked local leaders for creating timely favourable conditions for Korean firms to come to explore investment opportunities in HCM City.