National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân (l) receives Honorary Consul General of Việt Nam in Busan-Gyeongnam region Park Soo-kwan yesterday.– VNA/VNS Photo Trọng Đức

BUSAN – National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân hailed contributions by Honorary Consul General of Việt Nam in Busan-Gyeongnam region Park Soo-kwan to relations between Việt Nam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) while receiving the official yesterday.
Thanking Park for helping arrange the delegation’s tour to Busan, Ngân said that her ongoing official visit to the RoK aims to continue deepening the bilateral strategic partnership in all fields, for the benefits of the two peoples.
Citing the fact that there are a lot of Vietnamese labourers and Việt Nam-Korea multicultural families in Busan, she expressed her hope that the Honorary Consul General will help promote people-to-people exchanges, protect legitimate interests of Vietnamese citizens living in the city, particularly Vietnamese women who get married to Korean men, along with his efforts to boost bilateral cooperation in economics, trade, investment, tourism and education.
Welcoming the top Vietnamese legislator and accompanying delegates, Park stated that the Busan-Gyeongnam region has over 300 enterprises currently investing in Việt Nam and the number is rising.
However, direct air routes connecting Busan and HCM City and the two countries at large have yet to meet the increasing travel demand of the two peoples, he added.
Agreeing with this proposal, Ngân stressed the need to increase flights between the two sides.
She also expressed her delight at the RoK’s decision to grant multiple entry visas valid for up to five years to Vietnamese citizens living in Ha Noi, HCM City and central Da Nang.
Việt Nam and the RoK established diplomatic ties on December 22, 1992. In August 2001, the two nations issued a joint statement on comprehensive partnership in the 21st century on the occasion of the RoK visit by Vietnamese President Trần Đức Lương. In October 2009, they boosted their relationship to the level of strategic cooperative partnership during the Việt Nam visit by President Lee Myung-bak.
The two countries have contributed to forums and multilateral cooperation frameworks in the region and the world, while bilateral ties have been deepened via the regular exchange of high-level delegations.
Relations between the two legislatures have been nurtured bilaterally and multilaterally. During the RoK visit by Vietnamese NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung in July 2013, a cooperation deal between the two legislatures was signed.-VNS