Seoul (VNA) – National Assembly ChairwomanNguyen Thi Kim Ngan has said her visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) aims to pushforward the practical and effective development of bilateral strategiccooperative partnership.

During a reception in Busan city on December 4 for its MayorOh Keo-don, Ngan said Vietnam attaches great importance to its ties with theRoK as the two countries share historical and cultural similarities.

She stressed the need to promote ties between the twocountries’ localities outside of governmental and parliamentary links.

Lauding cooperative ties between Busan and Ho Chi Minh Cityover the past two decades, Ngan expressed her delight at the fact that onefourth of Korean investors in Vietnam come from Busan.

The leader hailed the RoK as one of the top trade andinvestment partners of Vietnam, adding that Vietnam is interested in small- andmedium-sized enterprises, wishing that more Busan businesspeople would investin fields of Vietnam’s demand.

According to Ngan, the number of Vietnamese people livingand working in the RoK is equivalent to the total Korean population in Vietnam.As well as locality-to-locality cooperation, she called for stepping uppeople-to-people exchange.

Expressing her thanks to Busan authorities for providingpositive support for Vietnamese nationals in the locality, she hailed Busan forits preparations for the establishment of a support centre for Vietnam-RoKfamilies.

Along with refining legal regulations and creating a fairbusiness environment for foreign firms, Vietnam also advocates a policy ofprotecting foreign citizens, including Koreans, in the country.

Mayor Oh Keo-don, for his part, thanked the top Vietnamese legislatorfor choosing Busan as the first destination during her trip. He said that the Busanpeople love Vietnam and its people, and that there are many Vietnamese peopleliving and working in the locality.

He expressed his belief that Vietnam will further thrive andthat both countries should partner up for mutual development. –VNA