Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has affirmed Vietnam’s recognition of great importance to cooperation with the Republic of Korea (RoK), and its readiness to act as a bridge for the enhancement ASEAN – RoK and Mekong – RoK cooperation frameworks.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) meets with
his Korean counterpart Lee Nak-yeon in Seoul (Photo:VNA). 

Meeting with his Korean counterpart Lee Nak-yeon in Seoul on November 28, PM Phuc congratulated the RoK on successfully holding the 30th ASEAN-RoK Commemorative Summit and the first Mekong – RoK Summit.

He expressed his wish that the RoK would continue assisting Vietnam in bomb and mine clearance, as well as settling the war consequences. He asked the RoK side to early finalize the risk analysis process to open the market for Vietnamese farm produce, towards the bilateral trade target of US$100 billion in the time to come.

He suggested incentivizing Korean firms to transfer technology and become involved in Vietnam’s key energy and infrastructure projects, and sharing experience in information technology such as 5G network, e-government development, online public services, and enterprise architecture management.

Phuc also called on the RoK to consider relaxing and finally removing some conditions for loans from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund.
The Vietnamese cabinet leader said he hopes that the Korean government, people and mass organizations would continue helping the Vietnamese community in the RoK, especially Vietnam – RoK multicultural families, to stabilize their lives as a contribution to local socio-economic development and fostering the friendship between the two countries’ people.

He asked the Korean government to consider issuing a favourable visa policy for Vietnamese people to bolster tourism and people-to-people exchange.

PM Lee, in turn, affirmed his nation’s policy of extending cooperation with Vietnam, and pledged to further advance bilateral ties in a multitude of fields.

The RoK will take measures to protect legitimate rights and interests of children of Vietnam – RoK multicultural families, help them to inherit the cultures and languages of both countries and make it easier for them to become global citizens, he told his guest.

The RoK will coordinate with Vietnam to help the latter perform well its role as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020 – 2021 tenure and ASEAN Chair 2020.

The two PMs promised to make the most of existing cooperation and dialogue mechanisms, expand people-to-people exchange, and work closely together on regional and global issues.

Regarding regional and global situation, they underscored the significance of maintaining peace, stability, complying with law in the region, and settling disputes by peaceful means and dialogues in line with international law.

In the afternoon the same day, PM Phuc and his delegation departed Seoul, ending their trip to the RoK for the ASEAN-RoK Commemorative Summit, the first Mekong-RoK Summit and an official visit to the East Asian nation.