Hanoi (VNA) – TheGovernment of Vietnam always supports and creates favorable conditions fordefence ministries of Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) to foster theiraffiliation, contributing to diversifying and deepening the strategicpartnership between the two countries, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

During his reception for RoK Defence Minister of the Song Young-moo in Hanoi onJune 4, the PM held that the RoK official’s visit will contribute to realisingagreements reached by senior leaders of the two countries during the Vietnamvisit by RoK President Moon Jae-in in March 2018.

He said that over thepast 25 years, the Vietnam-Rok friendship and partnership has been growing in astrong, extensive and practical manner, especially in economics, trade andinvestment.

The RoK has become thebiggest foreign investor in Vietnam, he noted.

Lauding the outcomesof the talks between the two countries’ defence ministers, PM Phuc hailed cooperationresults between the two Defence Ministries over the past years.

For his part, MinisterSong said that the RoK considers Vietnam as the leading partner in its “NewSouthern Policy,” holding that defence cooperation will help boost economicpartnership, fulfilling the target of 100 billion USD in two-way trade by 2020.

The guest spoke highlyof Vietnam’s stance on peace on the Korean Peninsula, clarifying that the RoKalso pays great attention to the aviation and maritime freedom in the East Sea,as the majority of RoK exported goods are transported through the marine route.

He affirmed that aregular dialogue channel with the Vietnamese side is always maintained, addingthat the RoK is willing to coordinate with Vietnam in the area of defence.

PM Phuc welcomedefforts of the RoK in promoting dialogue and peaceful settlement of the nuclearissue on the Korean Peninsula.

Vietnam also highlyvalues the “New Southern Policy” of the RoK Government, which places Vietnam asa key partner, he stated, pledging that Vietnam is ready to help foster theASEAN-RoK relations.

The Vietnamese PM alsoexpressed his hope that the RoK continues supporting Vietnam’s viewpoint in buildingthe East Sea into an area of peace, cooperation and friendship.

He lauded the twodefence ministries’ signing of a statement on joint vision on defencecooperation to 2030, suggesting that the two sides work out measures toeffectively implement the document.

The two sides shouldstrengthen cooperation in personnel training, defence industry and technologytransfer, while speeding up affiliation in ODA projects to deal with warconsequences in Vietnam, he proposed.

The PM also ask thetwo ministries to share experience in joining UN peacekeeping operations, whilesupporting and coordinating with each other in multilateral forums.-VNA