The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in coordination with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea (RoK) held a conference named “Meet Korea 2020” in Hanoi on June 30 to promote exchanges and cooperation between Vietnamese localities and partners in the RoK.

Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son highlighted the fruitful development of the Vietnam - RoK relations in many fields, especially after the two established a strategic cooperation partnership in 2009.

He said that both Vietnam and the RoK have led the world in containing the spread of COVID-19, adding the two governments have coordinated closely in controlling the health crisis, demonstrating the spirit of their strategic cooperation partnership.

Vietnam has assisted many RoK experts, engineers, and senior managers to enter the country during the pandemic, ensuring production and business activities are maintained in Vietnam, he said.

The Vietnamese Government will continue to support and create favourable conditions for foreign enterprises, including RoK ones, to do business smoothly, safely, and permanently in Vietnam, Son affirmed.

He expressed a belief that the two sides will maintain their practical and effective cooperation in the time to come.

For his part, RoK Ambassador Park Noh-wan said the event offers a good start for the two sides to build an annual dialogue channel between RoK businesses and Vietnamese localities.

On the occasion, MoFA’s Department of Foreign Affairs of Localities and the Korea Chamber of Business in Vietnam (KORCHAM) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to further promote cooperation between RoK firms and Vietnamese localities.

Economic cooperation is a key pillar in bilateral relations. The RoK has FDI capital in Vietnam of nearly 70 billion USD in more than 8,000 projects, which create jobs for over 700,000 Vietnamese workers and make up 30 percent of Vietnam’s export value.

Two-way trade in 2019 hit 66.6 billion USD and the two sides aim to lift the figure to 100 billion USD at an early date.