Official welcome ceremony held for PM Pham Minh Chinh at Seoul Air Base

Welcoming them at the airport were Minister of SMEs and Startups Oh Young Joo, Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Choi Yong Sam, and some other officials of the RoK Government, and Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Vu Ho.

An official welcome ceremony for PM Chinh and his spouse and the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation was held at the air base. The Vietnamese Government leader was invited to step onto the podium of honour, and review the guard of honour.

During his stay, PM Chinh is scheduled to engage in more than 30 activities, including official meetings with high-ranking RoK leaders, attending and speaking at business, tourism promotion, cultural cooperation, and labour forums; and roundtables with leaders of Korean economic organisations and intellectuals and scientists in the fields of semiconductor and artificial intelligence.

He will also meet executives of several major economic groups, visit the Vietnamese embassy, talk with representatives of the Vietnamese community in the RoK, deliver a policy speech at the Seoul National University, and visit Samsung Group's semiconductor factory in Gyeonggi province.

This is the first official visit of a high-ranking Vietnamese leader to the RoK since the two countries elevated their bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022. It is also the first visit to the RoK by a Vietnamese Prime Minister over the past five years, and the first by Chinh as the PM of Vietnam.

The visit takes place at a time when the Vietnam-RoK ties are developing strongly, with political trust increasingly strengthened and exchanges of delegations at all levels held regularly. The two countries cooperate closely and support each other in regional and international forums.