Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has requested South Korea to further open its market to Vietnam’s key exports, particularly agricultural and seafood products.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik. Photos: Nhat Bac

This request was made during his meeting with South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik on July 2, during which he urged the two national assemblies to work closely together to effectively operationalize bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms.

"We hope the South Korean National Assembly will support and pass policies that enable Vietnamese businesses to integrate more deeply into the global supply chains of South Korean companies and promote cooperation between the two countries in digital transformation and green transformation," the Prime Minister said.

He also asked South Korea to assist Vietnam in training human resources in sectors such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

At the meeting, Woo reaffirmed that the South Korean National Assembly will maintain close cooperation with the Vietnamese National Assembly and support the two governments in executing action programs under the new relationship framework, fostering economic security cooperation, and connecting human resources.

Overview of the meeting.

He also requested that Vietnam look after and facilitate conditions for South Korean businesses operating in Vietnam. Recognizing the positive contributions of the Vietnamese workforce in each country, Woo agreed to work with the Vietnamese National Assembly to promote efforts to protect and support the Vietnamese community in both nations.

Both sides agreed to step up cultural exchanges, tourism cooperation, and local interactions in order to increase mutual understanding between their peoples and lay the foundations for the sustainable development of relations. They also agreed to coordinate and support each other in international organizations.

Woo expressed confidence that Prime Minister Chinh’s visit would further deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries and help realize the new bilateral relationship framework.

Vietnam and South Korea established diplomatic relations on December 22, 1992. The two upgraded the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership in October 2009 and to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in December 2022. This visit marks the first official trip to South Korea by a senior Vietnamese leader since the relationship upgrade.

Economic cooperation has always been a highlight and a crucial pillar of the bilateral relations. South Korea is the largest foreign investor in Vietnam, with a cumulative registered capital of $87 billion. It is also a major trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching nearly $80 billion in 2023, and a key partner in development cooperation (ODA), tourism, and labor.