Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has highly valued cooperative relations between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK), as well as between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the RoK.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his spouse at Gimhae military airport in the RoK's Busan city 

“Vietnam considers the RoK a leading important partner in all spheres, while the RoK has regarded Vietnam as a key partner in its New Southern Policy,” PM Phuc said on the occasion of his trip to the RoK to attend the ASEAN-RoK Commemorative Summit and the first Mekong-RoK Summit whilst paying an official visit to the country.

Vietnam and the RoK set up diplomatic ties in 1992, and the two countries upgraded the relationship to the level of “comprehensive partnership in the 21st century” in 2002 before lifting to a strategic cooperative partnership in 2009.

As well as economic links, people-to-people exchanges and collaboration in national defence and security, culture, education, sports and tourism have developed robustly, PM Phuc said.

He added that the RoK has always taken the lead in foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam and ranked second in provision of official development assistance (ODA) and third in trade and tourism cooperation with the country.

Vietnam is also the RoK’s fourth largest trading partner with two-way trade expected to hit 67 billion USD this year, making up 40 percent of total trade revenue between the ASEAN and the RoK.

During a State visit to Vietnam by President Moon Jae-in in March 2018, the two countries agreed to promote trade cooperation in an equal and sustainable manner, aiming to raise the bilateral trade to 100 billion USD in 2020.

“Vietnam wants to further expand and deepen its strategic cooperative partnership with the RoK in all spheres, effectively implementing cooperation and dialogue mechanisms for diplomacy, national defence and security, and economy, thus benefiting people from both sides,” he affirmed.

The leader also noted with achievements made in ASEAN-RoK relations over the past 30 years, especially since 2010 when the two sides elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership.

PM Phuc said since 2014, the two sides have realised the “joint declaration on future vision of strategic partnership: building trust, bringing happiness,” adding that they have closely coordinated on regional and global issues.

The RoK is an important partner for the ASEAN and has actively participated in forums led and established by the grouping such as the East-Asia Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the ASEAN Plus Three.

Trade between the ten-member group and the RoK increased from 10.3 billion USD in 1990 to 160 billion USD last year, he said.

The leader emphasised that both the ASEAN and the RoK are striving to implement the 2016-2020 action plan with various activities and projects. The ASEAN has received active support from the East Asian country in building the ASEAN Community, especially after President Moon announced the New Southern Policy and the 3P (people, peace, prosperity) initiative.

Vietnam has selected “Cohesive and Responsive” as the theme of the ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2020, with a focus on enhancing intra-bloc solidarity and promoting the role and contributions of the bloc to maintaining peace, security and stability in the region; and taking the lead in coping with external challenges and settling regional and international issues.

As the ASEAN Chair, Vietnam will continue to carry forward its role and constructively contribute to ensuring peace, stability and security in the region and the world, including the Korean Peninsula, PM Phuc said.

He reiterated that the consistent stance of Vietnam and the ASEAN is supporting the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and calling for relevant sides to maintain dialogue and fully implement reached agreements towards long-term and sustainable peace on the peninsula.

“Vietnam and other ASEAN members call on the RoK to cooperate in preserving peace with respect for international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, ensuring security, safety and freedom of aviation and navigation in the East Sea,” he said.