Cementing Vietnam-Republic of Korea strategic cooperative partnership

The state visit by President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea, at the invitation of Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, is a significant political event which affirms the desire to further strengthen the Vietnam-Korea strategic cooperative partnership.

President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea and his spouse.
President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea and his spouse.

The Vietnamese people are pleased to share with the Korean leaders and people their pride over their significant achievements. In 2017, Korea was Asia’s fourth largest economy and the world’s 11th largest, with the trade value reaching US$901.6 billion.

Korea is looking towards sustainable and harmonious development; revising its economic structure towards increasing domestic demand by creating jobs and stimulating consumption; considering modern industrial and technological development as the new growth drivers; paying attention to resolving issues concerning social security, the environment, security, safety, and balanced growth between different regions. In foreign affairs, Korea advocates the implementation of sustainable and harmonious development policies and attaches great importance to cooperation and development.

Since diplomatic ties were established in 1992, the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Korea have been continually cultivated by generations of the two countries’ leaders and people. In 2009, Vietnam and Korea upgraded their bilateral relationship to a strategic cooperative partnership, marking a significant milestone in the bilateral ties.

The fine relationship between Vietnam and Korea has been strengthened by the high-level visits and meetings of the two countries’ leaders. Korea gives priority to its cooperation with ASEAN, including Vietnam, and has worked closely and effectively with Vietnam at many multilateral forums and international organisations, especially the United Nations.

It is pleasing to witness the strong development in economic cooperation between the two countries. In 2017, bilateral trade reached US$61.5 billion and Korea is one of the major trading partners of Vietnam, while Vietnam is currently the fourth largest recipient of Korean investment and the largest recipient of its assistance.

Korean assistance has been provided in various forms, focusing on administrative reform, education, water resource management and infrastructure. Korea provided Vietnam with US$1.2 billion in preferential loans from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund during the 2012-2015 period, and has pledged to provide US$1.5 billion in official development assistance for the 2016-2020 period.

Labour cooperation is a bright spot in Vietnam-Korea relations. Korea is currently the second largest importer of Vietnamese workers, with nearly 50,000. In addition, tourism cooperation is also being fostered. In recent years, Korea has been one of the major sources of international arrivals in Vietnam. Educational cooperation between the two countries has also seen fruitful results. Vietnam and Korea have already signed a culture agreement, a memorandum of understanding on culture, arts, sports and tourism cooperation and many other agreements on youth exchanges and education.

On February 16, 2016, Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training and the Korean Embassy in Vietnam signed an agreement on piloting the teaching of the Korean language at secondary schools in Vietnam. Science-technology cooperation and people-to-people exchanges are also being promoted.

President Moon Jae-in’s state visit to Vietnam affirms the determination of the two countries’ leaders and people to further strengthen the Vietnam-Korea strategic cooperative partnership, reinforcing the political trust between both countries’ leaders. The visit is also a chance for the two sides to discuss measures to boost their bilateral cooperation in a more substantive and effective manner, as well as to discuss regional and international issues of shared interest, for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and throughout the world.