Participants speak during the International Conference on Korea-Vietnam Public Diplomacy Dialogue, in Hanoi on March 15. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
By Kim Tae Won and Hahm Hee-eun
A week before President Moon Jae-in visits Vietnam, the International Conference on Korea-Vietnam Public Diplomacy Dialogue was held in Hanoi on March 15 to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two East Asian neighbors.
More than 100 dignitaries from Korea and Vietnam, including Lee Hyuk, Korea’s ambassador to Vietnam, Park Eun-ha, Korea’s ambassador for public diplomacy, Nguyen Quang Thuan, the president of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS), attended the conference. They discussed the situation across East Asia, Korea’s New Southern Policy, and ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Seoul and Hanoi.
The participants from Vietnam highly praised the changes going on on the Korean Peninsula after the recent PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games and the efforts of the Korean government in this regard.
As for Korea’s New Southern Policy, the Vietnamese dignitaries stated that the Korea-ASEAN relationship has already become in many ways an inseparable relationship, and they asked for continuous political support across the region.
In particular, Vietnam mentioned that it would kindly ask for Korea’s understanding on Vietnam’s stance regarding several topics, such as development cooperation centered on the recipient country, the elimination of the trade imbalance, an inclusive multicultural policy, and better treatment of Vietnamese workers in Korea.
Korea’s ambassador for public diplomacy stressed in response that, “Only a relationship that is truly sincere, where the two parties truly care for each other, can contribute to a sustainable future. We would like to achieve such a relationship through our public diplomacy with Vietnam.”
twkim0717@korea.kr
