Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng (right) and RoK President Lee Jae Myung at their talks on April 23 in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng held talks with Republic of Korea (RoK)'s President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday in Hà Nội, on the occasion of the latter’s State visit to Việt Nam during April 21–24.

Welcoming President Lee and the high-level RoK delegation, PM Hưng underscored that the visit reflected the Korean Government’s and the President’s strong regard for Việt Nam and bilateral ties. He expressed confidence that the visit would inject fresh momentum into the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, making it more substantive, effective and wide-ranging in the future.

PM Hưng spoke highly of the outcomes of talks between Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm and President Lee, congratulating the Korean Government and people on their recent achievements under the President’s leadership. He voiced confidence that Korea would soon realise its vision of becoming 'a nation where the people are the masters and where all citizens prosper together'.

The Vietnamese Government leader also conveyed regards and an invitation to Korean counterpart Kim Min-seok to visit Việt Nam in the near future.

President Lee expressed appreciation for the warm reception extended by the Vietnamese leadership and people, and congratulated Hưng on his appointment as Prime Minister.

The Korean leader voiced strong confidence that under PM Hưng's helm, the Vietnamese Government would continue to achieve further success.

View of the talks between Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng and RoK President Lee Jae Myung in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

President Lee also commended Việt Nam's remarkable socio-economic achievements and its growing international standing. He noted that both countries are well-positioned to shape a new strategic vision for cooperation, creating opportunities for joint development and moving towards a shared, sustainable prosperity.

RoK, he affirmed, stands ready to accompany Việt Nam in achieving its development goals, including becoming an industrialised developing country by 2030 and a high-income developed nation by 2045.

Both sides welcomed the strong progress in bilateral relations over nearly 35 years since diplomatic ties were established, noting that the two countries are among each other’s top three trading partners.

The RoK remains the largest investor in Việt Nam, with over 10,000 companies operating in the country, contributing significantly to economic growth and industrial development.

Cooperation across politics, security, defence, science and technology, labour, education and people-to-people exchanges has also seen notable advances.

To further deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, PM Hưng proposed strengthening political trust through expanded cooperation in defence, security and diplomacy, while enhancing the effectiveness of existing bilateral mechanisms to provide a solid political foundation for broader cooperation.

On economic, trade and investment ties, he stressed the need to deepen economic linkages with a focus on innovation and improved quality of cooperation. He called for effective implementation of measures to achieve bilateral trade turnover of US$150 billion in a more balanced manner by 2030, alongside continued market opening for both sides’ goods.

PM Hưng also urged the RoK to support higher localisation rates and greater participation of Vietnamese firms in Korean production supply chains, adopt policies to facilitate Vietnamese investment in Korea, and share expertise in financial innovation, banking supervision and the development of Việt Nam's international financial centre.

He further proposed enhanced cooperation in science and technology, innovation and digital transformation, closer strategic alignment on sustainable energy security, and expanded collaboration in human resources, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

President Lee agreed with these proposals, affirming that Korea would work closely with Việt Nam to achieve the $150 billion trade target by 2030 in a more balanced manner, while creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to integrate more deeply into global supply chains.

Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng (right) and RoK President Lee Jae Myung at a photo exhibition showcasing the relationship between the two countries, organised by the Vietnam News Agency. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

PM Hưng thanked and called on the Korean Government to continue supporting and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the Vietnamese community in the host country, simplify procedures and move towards visa exemptions for Vietnamese citizens. He reaffirmed that Việt Nam would likewise create favourable conditions for the South Korean community to live, study and work long-term in the country.

President Lee proposed promoting long-term and strategic cooperation not only in trade, investment and energy, but also in science and technology, labour and supply chains. He emphasised that Việt Nam's success is also Korea’s success, calling for enhanced high-level exchanges to advance bilateral cooperation towards sustainable shared prosperity.

He also expressed hope that the Vietnamese Government would continue addressing difficulties faced by Korean businesses in Việt Nam, enabling them to participate in key strategic infrastructure projects such as nuclear power, transport infrastructure and high-speed rail.

The RoK, he added, would positively consider increasing quotas for Vietnamese workers, expanding eligible sectors, and strengthening training cooperation to improve workforce quality while ensuring the rights and interests of workers. — VNS