President Nguyen Xuan Phuc held phone talks with President-elect of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Yoon Suk-yeol on March 23, during which the two leaders discussed measures to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in many fields.

President Phuc highlighted important achievements the two countries have achieved in bilateral and multilateral fields during the past 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992.

The two countries become each other's strategic cooperative partners with an increasingly deep level of mutual trust and understanding, and practical and expanded cooperation, he said.

The State leader thanked the RoK government for actively donating medical equipment and vaccines to support Vietnam's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in recent times.

For his part, President Yoon affirmed that the RoK always attaches importance to the relationship with Vietnam, which, he said, is at its best ever. He also expressed his hope that that the two nations will further promote cooperative ties in the coming time, including tourism and people-to-people exchange.

The RoK will continue to encourage its businesses to invest and expand their operations in Vietnam in the future, especially in spearhead industries, he stressed, adding that the country will also create favourable conditions for Vietnamese citizens to enter the RoK.

President Yoon spoke highly of Vietnam's role in ASEAN and thanked Vietnam for its contributions to peace, stability, cooperation and development on the Korean Peninsula.

The leaders agreed to maintain the exchange of high-level delegations and meetings with various appropriate forms; support the strengthening of security, defence and defence industry cooperation; and closely cooperate in implementing activities to celebrate the 30th founding anniversary of  diplomatic ties (1992-2022), towards upgrading the relations to a "comprehensive strategic partnership".

The two Presidents held that the two nations will coordinate in implementing measures to lift their bilateral trade to 100 billion USD by 2023 and 150 billion USD by 2030; as well as effectively performing existing trade agreements such as the Vietnam - RoK Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP).

Vietnam and the RoK will continue to cooperate closely in regional and international issues, and assisting the Southeast Asian nation in performing its role as the coordinator of RoK-ASEAN relations in 2021-2024, they said.

President Phuc took the occasion to invite the RoK President to visit Vietnam. President Yoon accepted the invitation with pleasure, and he also invited the Vietnamese leader to visit the RoK in 2022./.