Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s recent visit to South Korea has yielded remarkable outcomes in economic, trade, and investment cooperation, according to Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son.
Following high-level discussions, the leaders of both nations released a joint press statement outlining eight major points that highlight the progress in Vietnam-South Korea relations since the elevation to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The statement also detailed specific initiatives to further bilateral cooperation.
Minister Bui Thanh Son, speaking on the results of the official visit from June 30th to July 3rd, emphasized the strengthened political trust and reinforced personal connections between the senior leaders of the two countries.
During the visit, both sides signed 40 cooperation agreements covering a wide array of sectors, including digital transformation, renewable energy, green transition, climate change, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, small and medium-sized enterprise collaboration, as well as cultural and tourism exchanges.
Minister Son noted that the visit has deepened political trust and solidified personal relations between the high-ranking officials of Vietnam and South Korea. Both sides reiterated their commitment to implementing high-level agreements, aiming to foster a practical, efficient, and long-term partnership.
South Korean leaders have underscored Vietnam’s pivotal role in their foreign policy within the region, emphasizing its significance in the Indo-Pacific Strategy and the ASEAN-Korea Solidarity Initiative (KASI). Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed Vietnam’s strong support for South Korea’s policies and development goals, including the “Global Pivotal State” policy.
Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son hailed the Prime Minister’s visit as a landmark event, achieving substantial progress in economic, trade, and investment cooperation.
Both nations affirmed that economic collaboration is a cornerstone of their relationship. They agreed on actionable steps to elevate bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2025, with an ambitious target of $150 billion by 2030.
South Korea reiterated its commitment to Vietnam as a strategic partner in development cooperation (ODA), pledging to bolster the capabilities of Vietnamese enterprises to integrate deeper into the supply chains of Korean businesses.
The two sides also concurred on enhancing cooperation to build core mineral supply chains, ensuring economic security for both countries. South Korean enterprises lauded Vietnam’s stable and safe investment environment, recognizing ample opportunities for collaboration.
Minister Son highlighted the visit’s role in fostering human resource cooperation, labor exchange, cultural ties, and tourism. South Korea committed to supporting Vietnam in industrial labor training and creating a conducive environment for Vietnamese workers to live and work stably in South Korea.
Both countries agreed to amplify cultural, tourism, and educational cooperation, aiming for a vibrant people-to-people exchange reaching 5 million participants.
The visit also paved the way for new collaborative ventures in innovative fields such as high-tech, renewable energy, digital transformation, green transition, climate change response, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence (AI).
South Korea pledged $30 million over four years to support Vietnam’s research and development (R&D) projects and to advance the second phase of the Vietnam-Korea Institute of Science and Technology (VKIST).
As the leading foreign investor in Vietnam, South Korea’s cumulative registered capital stands at $87 billion. It is also a top-tier partner in trade, with a bilateral trade volume nearing $80 billion in 2023, and a major ally in ODA, tourism, and labor cooperation.
