Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son holds telephone talks with his counterpart from the Republic of Korea Cho Tae Yul on January 26.

The two sides concurred to work closely together to speed up the effective implementation of the action programme to boost the Vietnam-RoK comprehensive strategic partnership.

The two FMs pledged to encourage Korean firms to expand investment in Vietnam, build more research and development centres, and transfer core and source technologies to Vietnam, while coordinating in making the full use of the RoK's Economic Development Co-operation Fund (EDCF) and the Economic Development Promotion Facility (EDPF).

The RoK will help Vietnam develop cultural industries, expand exchanges among youngsters of the two countries, and provide more scholarships for Vietnamese students to study in the RoK.

The two FMs vowed to work for the strengthening of cooperation among localities of the two countries through practical activities such as the Meet Korea programme, while the RoK will continue supporting Vietnam in high quality human resources training and increasing the receiving of Vietnamese workers in the future.

The two sides agreed to continue coordinating closely and supporting each other at regional and international forums.

FM Son suggested that the RoK continue to cooperate closely with Vietnam within the ASEAN-RoK partnership while assisting Vietnam in performing the role of the coordinator for the ASEAN-RoK relations in the 2021-2024 tenure and organising the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit in 2025.

He also asked for the RoK's support and vision sharing on ensuring maritime and aviation security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflights in the East Sea, maintaining a peaceful and stable environment as well as a legal order, and settling disputes at sea through peaceful measures in line with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982.

FM Son took the occasion to congratulate Cho for being appointed as the RoK's FM, affirming that he is ready to work with FM Cho and strengthen cooperation between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs to promote the Vietnam-RoK comprehensive strategic partnership.

FM Cho expressed delight at the growth of the ties between the two countries, underlining that his country attaches great importance to relations with Vietnam and considers it an important partner in the RoK's foreign policy in the region.