Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Kang Kyung-wha praised the Vietnamese Government’s recent decision to resume commercial routes between the RoK and Vietnam, adding that both sides will strive to increase the frequency of flights in the near future.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh holds talks with RoK's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha

The RoK Foreign Minister, who is on an official visit to Vietnam on September 17-18, made the statement during talks with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on September 18. 

The Vietnamese Government has recently decided to reopen air routes to six destinations overseas, including the RoK, following the containment of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in these markets. Flights were scheduled to take off as of September 15. Accordingly, there are flights connecting two largest Vietnamese cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and the RoK’s Seoul capital. 

During talks, Minister Kang expressed her wish that Vietnam will continue to create favourable conditions for RoK firms to enter Vietnam to promote economic, trade, and investment co-operation between the two countries, while also ensuring the implementation of effective novel coronavirus (COVID-19) prevention measures. 

The RoK official congratulated Vietnam on its success in containing the COVID-19 epidemic and fulfilling the role of ASEAN Chair amid challenging conditions caused by the pandemic globally. She hoped Vietnam would continue to enjoy various socio-economic and external achievements moving forward.

With regard to future bilateral co-operation, Deputy PM Minh spoke highly of high-level exchanges between the two countries across various fields, especially in the economic sphere amid the COVID-19 pandemic having a negative impact on all aspects of the region and the wider world.

The Deputy PM also asked the Government of the RoK to shorten procedures for risk assessment in a bid to facilitate the export of Vietnamese agricultural products, such as grapefruit and red flesh dragon fruit, to the RoK. This can be done alongside the implementation of other policies such as introducing Vietnamese products into the value chain of firms from the RoK, contributing to raising two-way trade turnover to US$100 billion. 

At the event, both leaders also discussed international and regional issues before agreeing to continue closely co-ordinating and co-operating effectively in multilateral forums, such as the UN, ASEAN, APEC, and ASEM.