President Võ Văn Thưởng (right) and the Republic of Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol at a press conference after their talks in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) agreed on a common need to cement the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the field of national defence and security and to promote substantive cooperation and technology transfer in the defence industry. 

President Võ Văn Thưởng said on Friday morning at a press conference after the talks between Thưởng and President of the Republic of Korea Yoon Suk Yeol in Hà Nội.

The two leaders agreed on a number of major orientations to promote the relationship of the two countries in the near future in the spirit of a comprehensive strategic partnership. 

President Thưởng said that he had agreed with the RoK's President Yoon Suk Yeol to maintain contact and exchange high-level visits and delegations of all levels.

The two countries would also make efforts to deepen economic cooperation and strive to raise bilateral trade turnover to US$100 billion, towards the goal of US$150 billion by 2030.

Việt Nam would welcome South Korean businesses to make new investments on a greater scale, especially in priority areas such as national key projects and Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) projects including thermal power plants, liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants, high-tech electronics manufacturing factories, semiconductor manufacturing factories, big data, biotechnology and smart cities, Thưởng said.

Việt Nam would also welcome South Korean businesses to focus on transferring source technology to Việt Nam, Thưởng said.

The two sides agreed to continue working closely to effectively implement the RoK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) support for Việt Nam, Thưởng said.

The two sides were delighted at the signing of a cooperation agreement with the RoK’s Economic Development Promotion Fund (EDPF) worth US$2 billion to implement large-scale investment projects in transport and urban infrastructure in Việt Nam, Thưởng said.

Thưởng welcomed the extension of the Memorandum of Understanding on sending Vietnamese labourers to work in the RoK.

The two sides agreed to facilitate the simplification of administrative procedures for residence registration and work permits for experts and workers of one country in the other, Thưởng said.

On the matter of security, Thưởng said that the two sides agreed to continue to support ASEAN's stance on ensuring maritime and aviation security in the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea) in accordance with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

Việt Nam always paid close attention to the situation on the Korean Peninsula and would be willing to promote and participate in the process of its denuclearisation, Thưởng said.

For his part, RoK President Yoon Suk Yeol said that the two sides agreed to strengthen strategic cooperation in the fields of diplomacy and security.

The two sides would open a new mechanism of periodic talks between the foreign ministers of the two countries, Yoon said.

The RoK Government would actively support the enhancement of security and order at sea in Việt Nam based on the Memorandum of Understanding on maritime security signed this time, Yoon said.

He added the RoK would expand defence technology cooperation with Việt Nam based on the political trust between the two countries that had been increasingly consolidated.

Yoon said that the RoK would support non-refundable aid at the scale of US$200 million to Việt Nam in the period of 2024-27 for the fields of environment, climate change, health, education and digital transformation. There was also a plan to support joint research between the two countries with a scale of $30 million in the next decade, in order to support the focus on science and technology innovation in Việt Nam.

Emphasising that Việt Nam is a key partner in the implementation of the Indo-Pacific strategy and ASEAN-Republic of Korea Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity, Yoon said he had agreed with Thưởng about close cooperation with Việt Nam to promote ASEAN-Korea relations and Mekong-RoK co-operation.

The two leaders said they agreed to promote the expansion of cultural exchanges, education and tourism, and enhance mutual understanding and trust among all social classes. They also agreed to create favourable conditions for each other's citizens, further promoting cooperation between localities and supporting the Meet Korea programme.

The RoK Government would continue to expand its support for Korean language training in Việt Nam, as well as the Korean Government scholarship programme to enhance exchanges of future generations who would develop the relationship between the two countries.

The two leaders strongly agreed that the RoK would continue to help Việt Nam in accessing core technology and modernisation; carrying out the second phase of the Việt Nam - Korea Institute of Science and Technology (VKIST) project - a symbol of future-oriented development and cooperation between the two countries.

After the talks, the two sides witnessed the two countries' relevant agencies exchanging 17 signed co-operation documents in various fields.— VNS