(MPI) - On the occasion of the official visit to South Korea from June 30 to July 3 by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse, the two Prime Ministers witnessed the exchange of nine cooperation documents between ministries and agencies of both countries. These documents include in such fields as development, trade and investment, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), innovation and entrepreneurship, environment, competition and consumer protection, and education, in which including Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Korea’s non-refundable aid to Vietnam between the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and MoU on cooperation in SMEs between Vietnamese MPI and Korean Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups.

Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment and Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs inked an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Korea’s non-refundable aid to Vietnam. Photo: VGP

The two sides noted that the relationship between Vietnam and South Korea is at the best stage of development since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992, and agreed to foster cooperation across all spheres, aligning with their comprehensive strategic partnership.

Both sides emphasised that Vietnam and South Korea are top important partners of each other. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said Vietnam attaches importance to the relations with South Korea, and hopes to further develop its bilateral ties in a substantial, effective and long-term manner on par with the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership.

Economic cooperation remains an important pillar that contributing to substantive development of the bilateral relationship. The two sides pledged to work toward raising two-way trade to 100 billion USD by 2025, marking the 10th anniversary of Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA), and reaching 150 billion USD in 2030 in a balanced and sustainable direction.

To realise the targer, Vietnam and South Korea agreed to work closely to effectively implement their bilateral and multilateral economic cooperation mechanisms such as the VKFTA, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), including the early signing of a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) for Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programme this year.

Both sides agreed to encourage Korean businesses to expand investment in Vietnam in key industries such as digital transformation, green economy, circular economy, semiconductor, environmentally-friendly energy, biotechnology, 5G network, and smart cities.

They two sides pledged to expand exchanges in SMEs and startups, and train workforce in high technology, digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI). They also agreed to strengthen necessary cooperation in promoting investment by Korean businesses to build a stable core mineral supply chain.

The two leaders highlighted the importance of fostering collaboration in science and technology, particularly in high-tech areas, research and development (R&D) and technology transfer. Prime Minister Han Duck Soo said South Korea will assist Vietnam in enhancing science and technology and digital transformation capacity through the second phase of the Vietnam-South Korea Institute of Science and Technology project and the Future Partnership for Research and Development and Innovation project with a scale of 30 million USD over the next ten years.

Both leaders believed that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit has contributed to deepening the Vietnam-South Korea comprehensive strategic partnership, benefiting peace, stability and development in the region and the world at large./.

Bao Linh

Ministry of Planning and Investment