Vietnamese foreign minister Bùi Thanh Sơn and Republic of Korea counterpart Chung Eui-yong greeted as they met for talks in Hà Nội on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Đức

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese foreign minister Bùi Thanh Sơn has asked for the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s assistance in the COVID-19 fight to promote socio-economic recovery and restore normalcy for people-to-people exchanges.

He made the request during talks with his RoK counterpart Chung Eui-yong in Hà Nội on Wednesday as the latter is on an official visit to Việt Nam from June 21-23.

Vietnamese foreign minister Sơn congratulated the RoK on its achievements in economic development and COVID-19 prevention and control.

Chung congratulated Việt Nam on successfully organising the 13th National Party Congress, the election of the deputies for the 15th National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the term 2021-26, and expressed appreciation for Việt Nam’s ongoing tenure as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

He also said he believes Vệt Nam will record more achievements in socio-economic and foreign affairs in the near future.

The two ministers agreed on the importance of developing of the Việt Nam-RoK strategic co-operative partnership and expressed pleasure at the major co-operation achievements the two countries have witnessed in many fields despite the pandemic, as high-level exchanges between Việt Nam and RoK’s senior leaders have been maintained flexibly.

The two sides also concurred that the two foreign ministries should boost co-ordination and promote co-operation in all fields in the spirit of the agreement reached between the two countries' senior leaders, contributing to elevating the partnership, especially with regards to COVID-19 prevention and control, expanding investment and trade, development assistance, and citizen protection.

Regarding regional and international issues of mutual concern, the two countries’ top diplomats said they would continue to work together via multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations and ASEAN, among others – especially as Việt Nam is set to become the co-ordinator of ASEAN-RoK relations starting August this year.

They also said they would support the maintenance of peace and stability in the region, resolve conflicts – including those in the South China Sea (known in Việt Nam as the East Sea) – via peaceful measures in line with international laws, and contribute to the promotion of dialogue and co-operation in the Korean Peninsula.

Sơn said Việt Nam wants to bolster the Việt Nam-RoK partnership, especially as the two countries will celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, and that the country is highly appreciative of RoK’s New Southern Policy, which positions Việt Nam and ASEAN as key partners.

Sơn asked the RoK to facilitate the access of Vietnamese goods to its market and to join the global supply chain of RoK enterprises, in a bid to reach a balance in trade and increase two-way trade value to US$100 billion.

The Vietnamese diplomat said he also hoped to improve investment quality, expand ties in labour, science and technology, promote co-operation in research, production and support Việt Nam in access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Chung Eui-yong said in the New Southern Policy, the RoK cherishes and hopes to bolster relations with Việt Nam and stressed that the RoK will be a key partner of Việt Nam’s in its achievement of socio-economic development targets.

The RoK also shared Việt Nam’s concerns and efforts to reach trade balance and expected Việt Nam to help RoK firms in the country ensure stability for the supply chains in the context of COVID-19, he said.

The RoK ranks first in investment in Viet Nam with a total registered capital of US$71.85 billion and more than 9,000 active projects, and second in terms of trade with turnover in 2020 reaching $65 billion.

In the first five months of 2021, bilateral trade hit $24.9 billion, up 15.5 per cent over the same period in 2020.  — VNS

After the talks, the two foreign ministers witnessed the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Việt Nam's National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology and the Korea International Cooperation Agency on the COVID-19 response programme. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Đức