SEOUL – Việt Nam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) need to strengthen collaboration in diplomacy, security and defence, thus deepening their strategic co-operative partnership, according to National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân.

The top Vietnamese legislator made the statement while meeting with RoK President Moon Jae-in in Seoul on Thursday.

She affirmed the Vietnamese NA wishes to continue building trust between the two legislatures, suggesting the two nations maintain regular exchanges and meetings between senior leaders and facilitate exchanges and co-operation between agencies at all levels and localities.

They need to develop a stable and long-term relationship to create a favourable environment to expand their collaboration in areas stated in the ‘Việt Nam -RoK Joint Statement towards the Future’, she said.

Việt Nam proposes the RoK continue supporting the country to improve law enforcement capacity at sea and share experience to help it build and implement maritime strategies, she added.

The leader stressed Việt Nam always creates favourable conditions for RoK investors to do business in the country and encourages technology transfer in renewable energy, while co-ordinating to realise the Việt Nam - RoK Free Trade Agreement.

For his part, President Moon affirmed Việt Nam is a strategic partner of the RoK in various areas. He said he wishes the two will further enhance their co-operation, especially after this visit by Chairwoman Ngân.

He suggested Ngân and the Vietnamese legislature support Korean enterprises to do business in Việt Nam, contributing to the development of the two nations.

According to Moon, his country is pursuing the ‘New Southern Policy’, which focuses on enhancing ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with Việt Nam one of the most important partners.

Talks with RoK’s NA Speaker

During talks with Speaker of the RoK National Assembly Moon Hee-sang in Seoul on the same day, Chairwoman Ngân affirmed Việt Nam was willing to work with the RoK to elevate the bilateral strategic partnership and co-operation.

For his part, Speaker Moon Hee-sang hoped the Vietnamese NA and Government will pay more attention to Korean businesses operating in the country so they can contribute to realising the two-way trade target.

He stressed Việt Nam is the biggest development co-operation partner of the RoK and hoped the two sides will work together to build win-win co-operation.

He also mentioned the enhancement of people-to-people exchange and the protection of the two countries’ citizens.

The RoK has provided many policies to support Việt Nam-RoK multicultural families and ensure the rights of foreign workers, including those from Việt Nam.

To raise a more balanced bilateral trade turnover to US$100 billion by 2020, Ngân suggested both sides continue maintaining bilateral co-operation mechanisms, like the joint committee on co-operation in nuclear power, energy, and industry at the ministerial level; or the Việt Nam -RoK inter-governmental committee on economic, scientific, and technological co-operation at deputy ministerial level.

She took this opportunity to welcome the RoK government’s new visa policy for Việt Nam, while proposing both sides work to promote tourism ties, facilitate the granting of visas for Vietnamese citizens and consider exempting tourism visa fees for Vietnamese.

Regarding labour co-operation, the NA Chairwoman valued the RoK government’s agreement to sign a special memorandum of understanding (MoU) on labour co-operation and the renewal of the standard MoU in March 2018.

At the talks, the leaders expressed their delight at bustling people-to-people exchange. The Vietnamese community in the RoK numbers nearly 197,000, including more than 48,000 workers and 42,000 students. Meanwhile, about 150,000 Koreans currently live in Viet Nam.

She wished that the RoK National Assembly and Speaker Moon Hee-sang would support the Vietnamese community in the RoK, especially workers and women married to Koreans.

On international issues, NA Chairwoman Ngân stressed that Việt Nam applauds the RoK’s ‘New Southern Policy’, which focuses on bolstering co-operation with ASEAN countries, particularly Việt Nam.

Việt Nam is ready to act as a bridge to promote multifaceted co-operation between the RoK and ASEAN member states, she said, adding that it also supports the RoK’s efforts to ease tension, as well as boost dialogue and collaboration in such issues as the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korea relations.

Việt Nam appreciates the RoK’s stance on the East Sea issue, she said, asking the RoK to continue supporting the position of Việt Nam and ASEAN in maintaining peace and stability, and addressing disputes in the East Sea by peaceful measures in line with international law, with the full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea towards the conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea.

Regarding relations between the two parliaments, Ngân said that the Vietnamese legislature is ready to work with its RoK counterpart to support the partnership between the two nations.

The legislative bodies should listen to business communities and citizens to create a favourable legal environment for co-operation, exchange and citizen protection activities, she said.

The two sides will increase co-ordination and mutual support at inter-parliamentary forums, thus contributing to maintaining an environment of peace, stability, co-operation, and development in the region and the world.

On the occasion, NA Chairwoman Ngân invited her RoK counterpart to visit Việt Nam.

The same day NA Chairwoman Ngân witnessed the signing of a memorandum of a MoU between the two countries on an action plan for attaining $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2020 and presented the Friendship Order to Professor Ahn Kyong-hwan, Chairman of the Association of Vietnamese Studies in the Republic of Korea. – VNS