Prime Minister receives RoK Foreign Minister

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received visiting Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Kang Kyung-wha in Hanoi on September 17.

The Korean minister, who is on an official visit to Vietnam on September 17-18, highly valued the Vietnamese Government’s efforts to promote bilateral relations despite COVID-19 impacts, voicing her hope that the two sides will resume high-level mutual visits at an early date.

She also expressed her impression of Vietnam’s containment of COVID-19 and efforts to carry out bilateral exchanges amid the pandemic, noting that a large number of Koreans are wishing to enter Vietnam for investment and business purposes and so are many Vietnamese.

The RoK is ready to facilitate entry for Vietnamese people in the current context, Kang said, adding that she hopes the two countries will soon reach consensus on special entry procedures so as to further facilitate Korean experts and entrepreneurs’ entry into Vietnam.

The official suggested both countries soon sign an agreement on social insurance to better ensure employees’ interests. She also proposed Vietnam include the RoK in the reference country list in bidding for medical equipment procurement as her country has strength in producing international-standard medical equipment.

Appreciating the minister’s opinions, PM Phuc affirmed that the best possible conditions will be provided for Korean experts and entrepreneurs to enter Vietnam.

Vietnam supports the RoK’s New Southern Policy and hopes that the two sides will maintain high-level exchanges on the basis of ensured pandemic prevention and control, thereby bolstering bilateral cooperation, he said.

The Government leader asked the RoK to coordinate to carry out effective measures and create favourable procedures so that the countries can reach the trade target of 100 billion USD in the near future and balance bilateral trade.

Many major Korean businesses have been operating successfully in Vietnam, thus contributing to bilateral ties, he noted, affirming the Vietnamese Government’s attention to all opinions from Korean firms.

At the meeting, the PM also voiced his hope that the RoK will reduce and then eliminate binding conditions for its ODA and concessional loans while expanding non-refundable aid for Vietnam, receive more Vietnamese guest workers, and provide more support for the Vietnamese community in the RoK, especially amid the current COVID-19 pandemic.

In terms of the East Sea issue, he hoped the RoK will keep supporting Vietnam and ASEAN’s stance in this regard, including maintaining peace and stability, ensuring safety and security of navigation and overflight in the waters, and respecting international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.