Vietnam and South Korea have gone beyond the framework of partnership to become a special relationship that is no different from a “family” relationship.
Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Choi Young Sam - Photo: VGP/Van Cuong
At the invitation of Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and his wife, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife will pay an official visit to Korea from June 30 to July 3, 2024. Speaking with the Government E-newspaper, Mr. Choi Young Sam, Korean Ambassador to Vietnam, emphasized that the visit has special significance, being the first high-level visit of Vietnam after the two countries upgraded their relations to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in December 2022, and taking place exactly one year after the State visit to Vietnam by President Yoon Suk-yeol. According to the Ambassador, through this visit, the two countries will accelerate the implementation of the "Action Program to Implement the Vietnam-Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" which was launched during President Yoon Suk-yeol's State visit to Vietnam last year. It is expected that the two Prime Ministers will discuss expanding cooperation between the two countries in all areas, including trade, important minerals, labor, semiconductors, AI, digital transformation, people-to-people exchange, culture, tourism, local exchanges, etc. In addition, the two countries will also seek ways to strengthen regional cooperation such as ASEAN, Mekong; respond to common global challenges such as climate change to contribute to peace and prosperity in the region and the world. The Korean side hopes that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Korea this time will continue to enhance strategic and substantive cooperation between the two countries to a level worthy of a comprehensive strategic partnership. "We will see the relationship between the two countries, which is at its best, continue to develop 'better'. The Korean Embassy and relevant agencies are making the highest efforts to achieve the best results for the visit," Ambassador Choi Young Sam expressed. Vietnam-Korea Relations: A "One Family" Relationship Assessing the relationship between the two countries, Ambassador Choi Young-sam said that Korea and Vietnam are the most special partners and nothing can hinder the development of the relationship between the two countries. The two countries have absolutely no conflicts of interest; the bilateral relationship is complementary and mutually beneficial, in which Korea shares its economic development experience with Vietnam and Vietnam shares its rich human resources and natural resources with Korea. Such a relationship will help Vietnam become a high-income developed country by 2045, while Korea can realize its 'Globally Important National Vision', to contribute to freedom, peace and common prosperity. Up to now, the two countries have gone beyond the framework of a partnership to become a special relationship that is no different from a "one family" relationship, the Ambassador expressed. People-to-people exchanges between the two countries are taking place very actively due to geographical proximity and cultural similarities. In particular, there are currently about 90,000 Vietnamese-Korean family pairs. Referring to the prospects for bilateral cooperation, the Ambassador believes that the relationship between the two countries will continue to shine even brighter on the basis of the current special relationship, especially in new areas such as digital transformation, green transformation, and cultural industry... According to the Ambassador, green transformation is an important 'key' for the sustainable development of the relationship between the two countries; affirming that Vietnam is one of the most important cooperation partners of Korea in this field. The clearest proof of this is the "Vietnam-Korea Framework Agreement on Climate Change Cooperation" signed in 2021. This is the first Climate Change Cooperation Agreement that Korea has signed with another country. In the field of environmental cooperation, the Korean Government has provided ODA capital to Vietnam to amend the Law on Environmental Protection, train human resources specializing in the environmental field, build waste recycling facilities, air quality management systems, flood management, build electric vehicle infrastructure, etc. In addition, Korean enterprises have also actively invested in environmental fields in Vietnam, for example, the waste-to-energy incineration plant in Bac Ninh Industrial Park (starting operation from August 2023). This is a joint venture investment project between Chosun Refractories ENG Co., Ltd. and Green Star Environment Co., Ltd. (total investment capital of 25 million USD). On June 20, the two countries held the first meeting of the Joint Working Group on Climate Change Cooperation under the signed Framework Agreement on Climate Change Cooperation. Through this meeting, Korea and Vietnam will expand cooperation, including projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and carry out multifaceted efforts to reduce carbon emissions. In addition, the two countries will promote the transition to carbon-free energy such as green hydrogen and continue to strengthen cooperation in future green industries such as waste recycling and conversion to energy, and smart water management. Korea is ready to cooperate in developing cultural industries. According to Ambassador Choi Young Sam, there are many things that Korea and Vietnam can learn from each other in terms of culture. "Vietnam is a country with rich cultural content that is not inferior to any country in the world," the Ambassador shared, affirming that Korea is ready to contribute and cooperate to develop Vietnam's cultural industry.The two countries are currently cooperating through projects such as the 'Vietnam-Korea Cinema Exchange Project' and the 'Television Joint Production Project', and are discussing a human resource training project in the television sector using ODA capital from Korea, the Ambassador said.
The Ambassador believes that there are many things that Korea can learn from Vietnam, most notably cuisine. Recently, Korean dishes such as gimbap, grilled pork belly, and tteokbokki have become popular not only in Vietnam but also around the world, but the Ambassador believes that the first successful globalized dish was Vietnam's Pho. Vietnam has conquered the taste buds of people around the world and Korea will definitely learn from Vietnam the secret to successfully branding its cuisine. The Ambassador also highly appreciates the way Vietnamese people inherit and promote traditional culture, including the culture of "ao dai" as a daily outfit, as a part of daily life. Vietnam is not content with its status, enthusiastically looking towards the future. Sharing his feelings about Vietnam in the past year, the Ambassador said that this was a time for him to realize the similarities between Vietnam and Korea as well as receive much love from the Vietnamese people. The Ambassador also said that every day he witnessed the incredible potential and potential of Vietnam closer than anyone else. Vietnam preserves its traditions but is not afraid of change, is proud of its history but is not content with the past. All people are like that, regardless of generation. Especially when seeing the image of the young Vietnamese generation full of enthusiasm moving forward with future goals, the Ambassador sees the hope of Vietnam every day./.
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