RoK President’s visit to Vietnam: A crucial turning point

TIN LIÊN QUAN
	RoK President begins State visit to Vietnam
	RoK looks to expanding financial cooperation with Vietnam

As the first foreign head of state to visit Vietnam in 2018, what do you think is the meaning behind President Moon Jae-in’s visit, in the context of the two countries celebrating the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties?

Vietnamese Ambassador to RoK Nguyen Vu Tu: Since 1992, relations between Vietnam and RoK have developed rapidly, efficiently and comprehensively in various fields, including politics, defence and security, trade and investment, culture, sports, tourism and people-to-people exchange. In 2009, the two sides officially upgraded relations to a ‘Strategic Partnership’, confirming the comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and RoK in all fields.

Vietnamese Ambassador to RoK Nguyen Vu Tu.

2018 marks the first steps in the next 25 years of Vietnam - RoK relations. The official visit by President Moon Jae-in is of great significance, marking the determination of the leaders of the two countries to promote and further deepen the strategic partnership between Vietnam and RoK. This is even more meaningful since the RoK government is deploying the new ‘Look South’ diplomatic policy to elevate the relations between RoK and ASEAN countries, and especially Vietnam as one of its major partners.

It is expected that many bilateral cooperation agreements in trade, investment, labour, culture and education will be signed and ratified. This will be the basis for the two sides to further promote comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and RoK in the future.

Can you tell us which sector will be the focus of the bilateral relationship?

Vietnam - RoK relations over the last 25 years have been robust in every sector. With great cooperation potential and considering the needs of both the government and the people of the two countries, the Vietnam - RoK relations will continue to be promoted extensively.

In the field of political relations, the two sides will continue to boost trust and cooperation through high-level visits; continue to deepen cooperation in the fields of diplomacy, security and defense; implement effectively the existing bilateral agreements; and cooperate closely in addressing multilateral issues at regional and international forums related to the mutual interests of both countries.

In terms of economic cooperation, on the basis of the Vietnam - RoK Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA), the two countries should further expand the scale of trade and investment, including the goal of increasing trade turnover to 100 billion USD in 2020; promoting trade balance by allowing more exports from RoK to Vietnam; encouraging Korean enterprises to invest in Vietnam in the areas of infrastructure, high-tech and renewable energy; transferring technology, developing supporting industries, creating opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to participate in the global production and supply chain of RoK; implementing the framework of the EDCF credit agreement for the 2016-2020 period valued at 1.5 billion USD and the 12 billion USD credit program under the two countries’ financial cooperation; effectively deploying all the agreements made during high-level visits. The two countries need to continue cooperating in a number of fields such as labour, science and technology and tourism for mutual benefit.

On people-to-people exchanges, the two countries will continue their efforts to actively host cultural events and meetings between young people and experts from the two countries to strengthen the foundation of the friendship. Both sides should continue to expand cooperation between organisations, contributing to community development, vocational training, healthcare, education and people exchange; and create favourable conditions for people to live, work and study. The two countries need to further promote cultural cooperation, education, tourism and human resources training, contributing to comprehensive development of the Vietnam - RoK relations in the future.

How does the Embassy of Vietnam to RoK plan to deploy these ideas?

The Vietnamese Embassy will develop and implement the working plans in phases, in accordance with the implementation roadmap of the agreements made during this visit by President Moon Jae-in as well as other high-level meetings between leaders of the two countries, focusing on the following areas:

Firstly, the Embassy will cooperate closely with Vietnamese and Korean agencies to be the bridge connecting the two countries in all aspects, since our relations are developing more and more extensively.

Secondly, the Embassy will step up its advisory and research work to contribute to bilateral relations and promptly propose solutions to problems arising in the implementation of cooperation contents. If we do this well, the Embassy will assist leaders and ministries of Vietnam in coming up with policies and solutions to promote cooperation across all fields with the RoK.

Last but not least, the Embassy will focus on community work and citizen protection. Besides the major groups, including Vietnamese women married to Korean citizens and Vietnamese workers and students, the Embassy is focusing on activities involving people from multi-cultural families of Vietnam-Korea origin. The Embassy is also cooperating with Vietnamese and Korean organisations to hold Vietnamese language classes to help practice speaking and writing Vietnamese, thereby increasing their understanding, love and attachment to their homeland. 

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