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Vietnam- RoK relations to grow further

Special Advisor to the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Hahn Choong-hee believed that the RoK-Vietnam relations will grow further in all aspects.
Granting an interview to Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Seoul on the threshold of an official visit to the RoK by National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan from December 4-7, Hahn Choong-hee said that since the bilateral diplomatic ties were set up in 1992, the two countries have witnessed rapid development in their relations, from trade, investment and economics to culture and people-to-people exchanges.

For the RoK, the diplomatic relationship with Vietnam is one of the most important relations in the region at the strategic level, he affirmed, recalling the Vietnam visit by RoK President Moon Jae-in last March as another important milestone in the bilateral ties.

Agreeing with Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Nguyen Vu Tu’s remark on the “family” relationship between Vietnam and the RoK in his recent meeting with the RoK’s NA Speaker Moon Hee-sang, the advisor noted that tens of thousands of Vietnamese people are working and living in the RoK, while many Koreans, including politicians and entrepreneurs, also want to visit Vietnam to seek cooperation and business opportunities.

Hahn Choong-hee suggested both sides continue taking advantage of similarities in their traditions and cultures to develop the strategic cooperation and high-level dialogue, as well as collaborating with each other to invest in a third partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).


A welcome ceremony is held for National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan at Seongnam airport in Seoul. Photo: Trong Duc/VNA 


Speaker of the National Assembly of the RoK Moon Hee-sang receives and holds talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan during her official visit to South Korea from December 4-7. Photo: Trong Duc/VNA


The Vietnamese top legislator has a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Seoul. Photo: Trong Duc/VNA


The two top legislators and delegates pose for a photo at the Vietnam- RoK Investment and Trade Forum.
Photo: Trong Duc/VNA




The two top legislators attend the Vietnam-RoK Investment and Trade Forum. Photo: Trong Duc/VNA


National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan witnesses the signing ceremony for Action Plan
to achieve the 100 billion US dollars by 2020 between the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade,
and the RoK’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Photo: Trong Duc/VNA



During her visit, the Vietnamese leader receives leaders of several RoK groups, including CJ, Lotte, VN One, and the Korea Federation of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (KBIZ). Photo: Trong Duc/VNA


She also has a reception for representatives of the Ly family living in South Korea. Photo: Trong Duc/VNA  

According to Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Seoul, Korean daily newspaper of Busan on December 4 ran an article written by the Vietnamese top legislator noting that the relationship between Vietnam and the RoK, which began nearly 900 years ago, is developing comprehensively on the basis of historical connectivity, cultural similarities, economic growth support, and efforts of the two governments and peoples.

Earlier, the Korea Herald online newspaper ran an article entitled “Vietnamese top parliamentarian’s Korea visit heralds bright bilateral partnership” by Dr. Kim Hyun-jae, Director of the Vietnam Research Institute at Youngsan University.

It noted that her visit occurs as Hanoi and Seoul celebrate 10 years of Vietnam-RoK Strategic Cooperative Partnership (2009-2019). Since the establishment of diplomatic relations on December 22, 1992, bilateral relations have gone from strength to strength in every category.

On the parliamentary level, bilateral exchanges and cooperation on the international stage are vibrant through different channels, particularly their parliamentary friendship associations, it said.

The RoK is the top foreign investor in Vietnam with total investment capital reaching 62.12 billion US dollars in October, while coming second in official development assistance to Vietnam after Japan, and second in tourism and commerce volumes after China.

Vietnam is the RoK’s third-largest export market after China and the US, and is forecast to surpass the US by 2020. Bilateral trade has steadily increased to 61.5 billion US dollars last year, 117 times the initial amount of 500 million US dollars in 1992. Bilateral trade reached 55.45 billion US dollars from January through October. At the current rate, bilateral trade is expected to top 100 billion US dollars by 2020, said the article.

Some 191,000 Vietnamese are currently studying, working and living in the RoK. There are more than 150,000 Koreans living in Vietnam, and more than 70,000 Vietnamese women married to Korean men.

Some 2.5 million RoK tourists traveled to Vietnam last year, while 300,000 Vietnamese visited the RoK, it noted./.
 
  By VNA/VNP

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