National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (C) witnesses signing of a memorandum of understanding on an action plan for raising bilateral trade to 100 billion USD in a balanced manner by 2020 (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The official visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) madeby National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan from December 4-7 wasdescribed by Korean leaders as an important milestone in the fine Vietnam-RoKrelations, said head of the NA Committee for External Relations Nguyen VanGiau.
Sharing with reportersabout the outcomes of the visit, Giau said that the top legislator had a busyworking agenda, notably her talks with Speaker of the RoK’s National Assembly MoonHee-sang and her meeting with President Moon Jae-in.
RoK leaders agreedthat after 26 years establishing the diplomatic ties, the two countries areenjoying rapid development in their relations.
Both sides showedtheir optimism about economic and investment cooperation, Giau said, citing thefact that the RoK has become the biggest investor in Vietnam with a totalregistered capital of 62 billion USD, and the RoK is currently Vietnam’s secondlargest trade partner, while the latter is the former’s fourth largest trader.
Giau stated that thetop Korean leaders and Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don all shared a same view thatKoreans love travelling to Vietnam. Last year, around 2.5 million Koreansvisited Vietnam, and the figure is expected to reach 3.3-3.4 million this year.
According to him, whenmentioning cultural similarities, both countries’ leaders emphasised theimportant role of 68 Vietnam-RoK multicultural families in connecting and enhancingthe bilateral relationship.
The official said hewas touched when listening to Korean leaders’ remarks that the RoK had carriedout a lot of policies supporting Vietnamese brides and labourers.
The Korean sideappreciated the Vietnamese community’s contributions to its economicdevelopment, Giau stated, adding that NA Chairwoman Ngan also underlined Koreanenterprises and people’s contributions to Vietnam’s growth.
He reiterated the hopeof the two countries’ top leaders for 100 billion USD in two-way trade by 2020,adding that this is an important orientation.
Giau also shared that RoKleaders showed their interest in people-to-people exchange, especially whenPark Hang-seo, a Korean national, serves as head coach of the Vietnamesenational football team.
According to theofficial, during her visit, Chairwoman Ngan received representatives of the Lyfamilies - descendants of Prince Ly Long Tuong whoimmigrated to the RoK from Vietnam in the 13th century, and presented the Friendship Order to ProfessorAhn Kyong-hwan – Chairman of the Association of Vietnamese Studies in the RoK.
She was granted withan Honorary Doctorate Degree of Politics by the Pukyong National University andalso talked to Vietnamese students there.
The top legislatorattended an investment and trade forum between the two countries, and witnessedbudget carrier Vietjet’s launch of an air route linking Phu Quoc Island of Vietnamwith Seoul at this event.
She also witnessed thesigning of a memorandum of understanding on an action plan for raisingbilateral trade to 100 billion USD in a balanced manner by 2020 betweenVietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and RoK Minister ofTrade, Industry and Energy Sung Yunmo.-VNA
VNA
