Vietnamese Ambassador to South Korea Vũ Hồ. VNA/VNS Photo

SEOUL – The Vietnamese Ambassador to South Korea Vũ Hồ, says that the upcoming official visit to South Korea by Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn will be a highlight in the relationship between the two nations.

The visit is also a prelude to the comprehensive strategic partnership being widely and effectively implemented across all fields.

Sơn’s visit to South Korea, at the invitation of South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae Yeol, marks his first official visit since the two countries established their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022.

In an interview with The World and Vietnam Report ahead of the trip, Ambassador Hồ said the visit takes place amid a warm and positive Việt Nam-South Korea relationship, with enhanced political trust, burgeoning economic relations and expanding people-to-people exchanges.

While the prospects are favourable and opportunities abundant, there are also significant challenges and increasingly complex issues to address. This necessitates maintaining a harmonious and effective relationship across areas including political security and trade relations.

He affirmed that success in coordination is the core of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Hồ said Sơn’s visit holds substantial significance, stressing that it is an occasion for both sides to review the achievements and set directions for future steps in the relationship.

In addition, the visit sends a message of the mutual determination of Việt Nam and South Korea to strengthen trust, boost cooperation, seize opportunities and jointly tackle challenges on their shared path.

During the visit, Sơn will engage with South Korean leaders at various levels, business representatives and the Vietnamese community in South Korea. He will convey messages from Vietnamese leaders to South Korean leaders regarding the future of their relationship.

To businesses and intellectuals, Sơn will offer encouragement and insights while also gathering feedback and ideas to prepare for future significant activities between the two countries.

In addition, with his South Korean counterpart, Sơn will conduct in-depth discussions on the development of each nation, fostering trust in relations with Việt Nam. This visit also provides an opportunity for the two ministers to exchange detailed views on international and regional issues, laying the groundwork for coordinated efforts at regional and global forums.

Hồ affirmed that Sơn's visit to South Korea has generated significant expectations among Việt Nam’s representative agencies in South Korea. This is an opportune time to review major, strategic aspects of the bilateral relationship and to promptly shape solutions for the challenges and obstacles in cooperation.

Moreover, he added, engaging with business and intellectual communities will help generate new ideas and build stronger relationships. This is evident through events such as the Minister's meetings with various associations in South Korea, the launch ceremony of the Vietnamese Business Association in Korea (BAViK) and seminars with Vietnamese scientists and intellectuals in the field of high technology in South Korea.

The work of representative agencies will be given new opportunities to expand and develop in the current context, he said.

Since the upgrade of the bilateral relationship, there have been a total of six official high-level visits between the two countries, including the state visit of South Korean President Yoon Seok Yeol to Việt Nam in June 2023 and the official visit to Việt Nam by Speaker of the Republic of Korea’s National Assembly Kim Jin Pyo in January 2023.

Additionally, there were visits by seven ministers from ministries of Public Security and National Defence in April 2023), Industry and Trade, Planning and Investment, Agriculture and Rural Development in December 2023), Finance in March 2024, and Foreign Affairs in May 2024. More than 80 delegations of local Vietnamese leaders have had working visits and participated in investment promotion seminars and tourism promotion events in South Korea.

Economic cooperation, a key pillar of the bilateral relationship, has been a highlight in Việt Nam’s international economic collaborations. Over the past 30 years, bilateral trade has increased from US$500 million in 1992 to a peak of $87 billion in 2022.

As of the end of April, South Korea's cumulative direct investment in Việt Nam reached $85.87 billion, surpassing the second-highest investor by more than $11 billion.

Hồ said these impressive figures and events are the result of over three decades of continuous trust-building, enhanced cooperation and mutual improvements in the relationship.

The Ambassador said that the future holds many great opportunities for both countries, such as digital transformation and green development. To seize these opportunities, it is clear that the relationship between the two nations must become increasingly substantive, highly complementary and, most importantly, balanced and harmonious.

Achieving these goals requires the involvement of all levels, ministries, and localities. It is particularly important to pay attention to the mutual support and reciprocity in the bilateral relationship, he stressed. – VNS