PM concludes trip to RoK for summits, official visit

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (fifth, right) and RoK President Moon Jae-in (centre) and other leaders pose for a photo at the ASEAN-RoK Commemorative Summit in Busan (Photo: VNA)

During the trip, the PM and his entourage engaged in a wide range of bilateral and multilateral activities, reaping practical outcomes.

In particular, the PM’s official visit to the RoK set a new milestone in the Vietnam-RoK relationship with the signing of several cooperative deals valued at billions of VND, pushing the bilateral strategic partnership forward in a result-oriented, effective and comprehensive manner.

Talking about the outcomes of the PM’s tour, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung said the commemorative summit, held at the RoK’s initiative to commemorate 30 years of ASEAN-RoK dialogue relations, was considered an important highlight in the New Southern Policy of RoK President Moon Jae-in.

At the event, the RoK made a strong commitment to enhancing relations with ASEAN and stressed the wish to join hands with the bloc to build a peaceful, prosperous, sustainably cohesive and people-centred community.

The cooperation fields that will be promoted are also the strengths of the RoK and meet ASEAN’s demand, including infrastructure connectivity (by sea, road and air), digital and people-to-people connectivity, innovation, new technology development and application, effective adaptation to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, support for startups in science and technology, and high-quality human resources development, Dung said.

He noted the RoK also unveiled initiatives on improving tourist and work visa systems for ASEAN citizens, doubling scholarships for ASEAN students, setting up an ASEAN-RoK industrial innovation centre, and connecting with the ASEAN Smart Cities Network.

At a discussion about dialogue promotion for sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula, ASEAN countries affirmed their support for the RoK’s policy and President Moon’s efforts to step up dialogue, enhance trust, and work towards sustainable solutions for peace and denuclearisation. They pledged to continue contributing to this process, including by creating conditions for contact and dialogue on the sidelines of ASEAN-led forums like the ASEAN Regional Forum.

President Moon highlighted the goodwill and support of ASEAN members, including Singapore and Vietnam, according to Deputy Minister Dung.

At the end of the summit, ASEAN and the RoK adopted a joint vision statement for peace and prosperity and to outline major orientations for their partnership.

Dung noted as Vietnam is the next ASEAN Chair, PM Phuc had played an active role at the summit.

The Vietnamese leader pointed out important directions for reinforcing and elevating ASEAN-RoK relations in the next 30 years with four priorities, namely increasing the strategic aspects of their ties, bolstering balanced and win-win economic cooperation, stepping up comprehensive connectivity, and cooperation to the develop marine economy and environmental sustainably.

These priorities match the attention and priorities of both the RoK and ASEAN, and they are also the focuses Vietnam will promote as the ASEAN Chair in 2020, the deputy minister said.

He added PM Phuc also vowed that Vietnam will continue working closely with other ASEAN countries to further intensify the strategic partnership and all-round collaboration with the RoK to bring bilateral ties on par with both sides’ potential and aspirations.

At the event, ASEAN countries and the RoK expressed their belief in and affirmed that they will strongly support Vietnam to successfully fulfill its role as ASEAN Chair next year, the official noted.