Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin (left) and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son on Oct. 18 shake hands at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hanoi, Vietnam.
By Kim Seon Ah
Photos = Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Korea and Vietnam will upgrade bilateral relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership” to mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
The partnership marks Vietnam’s highest level of external cooperation, and Korea is just the fourth country to have such ties with the Southeast Asian nation after China, Russia and India.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul said Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin on Oct. 18 held talks with Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son at the latter’s ministry building in Hanoi, Vietnam. They discussed promotion of bilateral ties and Korea’s relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and major regional issues such as the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
To mark the 30th anniversary of ties this year, both ministers agreed to enhance their “strategic partnership” to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
The two sides also agreed to make their higher-level partnership official when their presidents hold a summit.
Seoul and Hanoi also decided to expand cooperation in defense and national security to boost maritime security capacity on the occasion of their upgraded bilateral relations.
Agreeing on the need to jointly respond to growing uncertainty in global politics and economy, they decided to strengthen cooperation in securing supply chains, digital transformation, climate change response, negotiations on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and health care.
Tangible bilateral cooperation in economy will also be developed in a reciprocal and future-oriented manner. Minister Park asked for Hanoi’s active interest and support for smooth business activity by Korean companies in Vietnam, which play a key role in bilateral economic cooperation.
Describing the status of free aid to develop Vietnam’s high-quality science and technology personnel, including the setup of the Korea-Vietnam Institute of Science and Technology (VKIST), he said Korea will continue collaboration to support Vietnam’s vision for national development.
The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) set up VKIST as a project to build a futuristic science and technology think tank in Vietnam modeled after the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). The agency plans to provide a combined USD 35 million in aid for VKIST between 2014 and this year.
The project is the largest grant-type aid program in KOICA’s history.
Minister Park said, “The Korean government will continue and boost its diplomatic stance on ASEAN,” adding, “For this purpose, we hope to closely cooperate with Vietnam, the dialogue mediating country for Korea and ASEAN.”
Minister Son said, “ASEAN also considers Korea an important partner,” adding, “As the dialogue coordinating country, we will actively cooperate to boost Korea-ASEAN relations.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin (second from right) on Oct. 18 holds talks with Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son (second from left) at the latter’s ministry building in Hanoi, Vietnam.
sofiakim218@korea.kr
