President of the Republic of Korea Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife are welcomed at Nội Bài International Airport in Hà Nội on Thursday. VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng

HÀ NỘI — President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee arrived in Hà Nội on Thursday morning, beginning their three-day State visit to Việt Nam at the invitation of President Võ Văn Thưởng.

Welcoming the RoK delegation at Nội Bài International Airport were Chairman of the President's Office Lê Khánh Hải, Chairman of the Hà Nội People's Committee Trần Sỹ Thanh, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyễn Minh Vũ, Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Nguyễn Vũ Tùng, and RoK Ambassador to Việt Nam Oh Young Ju.

The delegation accompanying President Yoon during his official visit to Việt Nam includes Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung Ho, Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang Yang, Minister of Employment and Labour Lee Jung Sik, among many others.

This is the first State visit to Việt Nam by President Yoon, and Việt Nam is also the first Southeast Asian country that he has visited since he took office in May 2022.

It takes place in the context that the bilateral relationship was upgraded from a strategic partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership in December 2022 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties.

Việt Nam and the RoK established diplomatic ties on December 22, 1992. At present, the RoK is one of Việt Nam’s leading important partners.

Currently, the RoK is Việt Nam's largest foreign direct investor with total registered capital of US$82 billion, the country's second largest Official Development Assistance (ODA), and third biggest trading partner.

In the first quarter of 2023, bilateral trade turnover between the two countries reached $18.1 billion, while other areas of cooperation are also flourishing.

During the visit, both sides will focus on discussing measure to further strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership, promote economic cooperation, expand investments that stabilise supply chains and enhance cooperation in other areas such as finance, banking, digital transformation, and human resource training.

Việt Nam and the RoK will also discuss international and regional issues of mutual interest.

President Yoon is scheduled to hold talks with Vietnamese counterpart Võ Văn Thưởng, meet with senior leaders of Việt Nam, and attend the Việt Nam-RoK Business Forum, among other activities. VNS