(VOVworld) - Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said that Vietnam treasures its relationship with the Republic of Korea which is given priority in Vietnam’s external affairs.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc meets with RoK’s Minister of Security and Public Administration Yoo Jeong Bak(Photo: VGP)

Phuc was speaking at a meeting with Prime Minister Chung Hong-won on Monday during his ongoing visit to the Republic of Korea. He pledged Vietnam’s efforts to boost cooperation in economics, trade, investment, and labor. The Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister urged the Korean government to create favorable conditions for Vietnamese exports to Korea in order to reduce Vietnam’s import surplus. He welcomed Korean enterprises for their large scale investment, technology transfer, and assistance for Vietnam’s auxiliary industry.

Prime Minister Chung said the Republic of Korea will honor bilateral ties and actively implement cooperative projects on economics, science, and technology. He proposed that both sides make efforts to sign the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) this year, creating momentum to reach the target of 70 billion USD in two-way trade by 2020. He also pledged to take measures to help reduce Vietnam’s import surplus.

Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in regional and global forums and maintain peace, stability, and freedom of navigation in the regional waters and airspace in accordance with international laws. Deputy Prime Minister Phuc voiced Vietnam’s support for peace, stability and denuclearisation in the Korean peninsula.

The same day, Phuc met with RoK’s Ministers of Security and Public Administration, Defense, and Justice, and several business leaders. He also visited the staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Seoul.

Deputy Prime Minister Phuc on Tuesday held talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Hyun Oh-Seok. They agreed to increase the exchange of visits to improve mutual understanding and further strategic dialogue on external relations, national defense and security. Deputy Prime Minister Phuc said that Vietnam will use the Republic of Korea’s 100 million USD preferential loan to improve its e-government. He asked the Korean government to support key cooperative projects between the two countries including the Vietnam-Korea Institute of Science and Technology and the National Anti-terror Training Center.

Deputy Prime Minister Hyun Oh-Seok said his country considers Vietnam an important partner in the region and one of its priority ODA recipients. He pledged continued ODA for Vietnam in the coming years in the areas of green growth, infrastructure development, and personnel training.     

The same day, Deputy Prime Minister Phuc met with Korean Parliamentary speaker Cang Chang Hi. Phuc called for continued support for the development of bilateral ties and the Vietnamese community in the Republic of Korea.

For his part, Cang Chang Hi pledged to boost the strategic cooperation partnership between the two countries and to help the Vietnamese community to integrate into Korean society. The two leaders also agreed on the need to boost people-to-people exchanges to increase mutual understanding.