Artists perform at the ceremony. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nm Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) held a ceremony in Hà Nội on Tuesday celebrating the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Việt Nam and the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Vietnamese Vice President Võ Thị Ánh Xuân said the relationship between Việt Nam and the RoK dates back to many centuries ago. Through ups and downs in history, Việt Nam and the RoK officially established their diplomatic ties on December 22, 1992, opening up a new chapter in their relationship.

She hailed the RoK as the biggest foreign investor in Việt Nam, the second biggest partner in terms of official development assistance, labour and tourism and the third biggest in trade. In return, Việt Nam is the biggest economic partner of the RoK in ASEAN, accounting for 30 per cent of the total investment and 50 per cent of the total trade between the RoK and ASEAN.

At present, there are about 200,000 expatriates from each country living, studying and working in the two countries, including about 80,000 Vietnamese-Korean multicultural families. About 70 pairs of localities have established cooperative ties while nearly 2,000 flights per month connect localities. Korean cultural, art, film, food, and fashion programmes are very popular in Việt Nam. The Vietnamese cuisine and culture are also becoming more popular in the RoK, she said.

The Vice President recalled that the RoK was one of the first countries to provide vaccines and medical equipment for Việt Nam in the fight against COVID-19. Việt Nam also creates favourable conditions for Korean firms to expand operations in the country, ensuring the stability of supply chains amid the global economic downturn.

"The Việt Nam-RoK relationship is a model of success based on political trust, dynamic, flexible and sustainable economic cooperation and close people-to-people exchange," she stressed. 

VUFO President Ambassador Nguyễn Phương Nga pledged that VUFO and the Việt Nam-RoK Friendship Association, as the core of people-to-people exchange between the two countries, will strive to perform their bridging role and work closely with Korean partners and mass organisations to effectively carry out agreements reached by leaders, step up people-to-people and cultural-art-sport exchanges, facilitate economic-trade and tourism activities, and help with humanitarian and charity projects in support of Việt Nam-RoK multicultural families, Vietnamese and Korean communities in each nation.

The RoK Ambassador to Việt Nam, Oh Young-ju, said bilateral ties have reached an unprecedented level in just 30 years. He expressed his firm belief that the event affords both sides a chance to reaffirm their deep friendship and celebrate the bright future they will step toward. — VNS