Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends the Vietnam-Korea Tourism Promotion and Cultural Cooperation Forum

Attending the event were Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung; Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son; Minister, Head of the Government Office Tran Van Son; Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung; Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien; Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan and leaders of several ministries, branches and local agencies of the two countries. Comrade Pham Quang Ngoc, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee joined the working delegation.

According to assessments at the forum, with many similarities in culture and history, Vietnam and Korea have shared, sympathized, trusted and witnessed remarkable developments in the cooperative relationship over the past 30 years, becoming Comprehensive Strategic Partners in 2022. One of the bright spots is the cultural and tourism cooperation between the two countries.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries have maintained close cultural exchanges and cooperation, connecting with people through online cultural, artistic, and film events. After the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea has emerged as the number 1 tourist market for Vietnam. In the first 5 months of 2024 alone, nearly 2.2 million South Korean tourists visited Vietnam. Out of every 10 international tourists to Vietnam, 3 are South Korean tourists.

The cooperation between the two countries in the field of tourism has developed surprisingly. Korean TV shows, movies, and cultural content have also become daily spiritual food for Vietnamese people.

However, delegates said that the tourism sector still has a lot of room for growth, Vietnamese airlines continue to open new routes to Korea, Vietnamese travel agencies and tourism companies continuously launch new, attractive and unique products to attract Korean tourists. At the same time, Korea continues to organize many Korean cultural festivals, popular art programs and campaigns to promote Korean tourism in Vietnam. Delegates also proposed tourism and cultural development models and tourism and cultural cooperation projects between Vietnam and Korea.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends the Vietnam-Korea Tourism Promotion and Cultural Cooperation Forum — *Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the Vietnam - Korea Tourism Promotion and Cultural Cooperation Forum.*

Speaking at the forum, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed and highly appreciated the opinions of the delegates, supporting the ideas and projects on tourism and culture cooperation between Vietnam and Korea that the delegates proposed; emphasizing that in the context of the current world situation, sustainable, inclusive development and green growth have become more urgent than ever for all countries. In particular, culture has emerged as a driving force for sustainable development, thereby helping global tourism grow again at a faster rate than expected.

According to the Prime Minister, Vietnam and Korea are two Asian countries with many similarities in culture and history. Over the past 30 years, Vietnam-Korea relations have made remarkable progress, becoming a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022 and are at the best and most favorable stage of development ever. In particular, cooperation in tourism and culture is a bright spot.

The Prime Minister said that Vietnam and Korea have political trust and a good foundation for cultural cooperation with unique and typical values from both sides, creating momentum for strong development of tourism, cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchange. Vietnam and Korea are beautiful countries with four-season climates, rich cultural and historical traditions, majestic nature, gentle and hospitable people, rich and unique tourism products that complement and support each other, and are both attractive tourist destinations.

Vietnam has 8 world heritages recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), including 5 cultural heritages (Hue Ancient Capital, Hoi An Ancient Town, My Son Sanctuary, Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Ho Dynasty Citadel), 2 natural heritages (Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park, Ha Long Bay) and 1 mixed world heritage (Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex). Beautiful beaches, majestic, mysterious and attractive landscapes create the endless beauty of Vietnam, attracting international tourists to explore and experience. South Korea owns 16 world heritages, including 14 cultural heritages and 2 natural heritages (Jeju Volcanic Island and Getbol Tidal Sandbar), many tourist areas with beautiful scenery and a culture that blends tradition and modernity (Seoul, Nami Island, Jeju Island...)

The strong development of economic - trade - investment relations creates space and promotes tourism and cultural cooperation between the two countries. In particular, the two sides continue to open new flight routes, introduce new, attractive and unique products; organize many cultural festivals, art programs and tourism promotion campaigns...

Regarding the orientation of Vietnam's tourism development, the Prime Minister stated that, with the motto "Unique products - Professional services - Convenient and simple procedures - Competitive prices - Clean and beautiful environment - Safe, civilized and friendly destinations", Vietnam has set out 7 main groups of tasks and solutions to develop tourism effectively and sustainably; determined to develop tourism into a truly spearhead economic sector, among the top 30 countries with the world's leading tourism competitiveness.

One of them is to focus on developing comprehensive, fast and sustainable tourism with the motto "Close connection - Harmonious coordination - Extensive cooperation - Comprehensive coverage - Sustainable efficiency", with a comprehensive, all-people, global approach; developing a sustainable tourism ecosystem, forming value chains, linking national and global tourism. From August 15, 2023, Vietnam has extended the stay period for Korean tourists from 15 days to 45 days, for visitors entering with an electronic visa (e-visa), the stay period is extended to 90 days.

The Prime Minister hopes that the two sides will jointly come up with specific and practical cooperation programs and projects, bringing Vietnam and South Korea tourism to a new level, striving to soon reach 5.5 million visitors, commensurate with the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

Regarding Vietnam-Korea cultural cooperation, the Prime Minister stated that the Vietnam-Korea cultural cooperation has been continuously nurtured and strongly developed in recent years, creating a solid and extensive foundation for the comprehensive strategic partnership. Culture and tourism always go hand in hand, complement each other and develop together.

The Prime Minister highly appreciated the efforts and cooperation results between the two countries' Ministries of Culture, Sports and Tourism in implementing signed documents on cultural cooperation in general and cooperation in developing cultural industries in particular. Over the past 30 years, Korea has made great strides in the field of cultural industries. The "Korean Wave" - "Korean Current" not only brings great economic values but also contributes to effectively promoting the national brand in the international market through cinema, music, fashion, etc.

The experience and success of Korea will be valuable lessons for Vietnam's cultural and entertainment industry, which has just begun to develop and achieved some very encouraging results. The Prime Minister hopes that Korea will help Vietnam in six areas: building institutions and policies for the development of the cultural and entertainment industry; building strategic infrastructure related to culture and tourism; training human resources for the cultural, sports and tourism industry; supporting governance for this sector, creating effective management; mobilizing resources for development from public-private partnerships and social cooperation sources; mobilizing capital for the development of the cultural and entertainment industry.

Recalling the teachings of President Ho Chi Minh: "Culture lights the way for the nation" and the words of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong: "Culture speaks of the identity of a nation, as long as culture exists, the nation exists, if culture is lost, the nation is lost", the Prime Minister said that Vietnam is focusing on building an advanced culture, imbued with national identity, which is an important endogenous strength, ensuring sustainable development, ensuring progress, social justice, social security, "leaving no one behind". The Prime Minister emphasized: "Culture is the spiritual foundation, an endogenous resource, a breakthrough driving force for development. Culture has a profound national identity. Culture must be enjoyed, motivated, and inspired by all people".

Regarding the development orientation of Vietnam's cultural industry, the Prime Minister stated that in order to create cultural industry products and services that are "Creative - Unique - Professional - Healthy - Competitive - Sustainable" on the basis of "National - Scientific - Mass", Vietnam has determined the motto "Sharp thinking, sharp action, choosing the best for breakthrough development", gradually building national product and service brands, participating in the global value chain.

Vietnam is building a Strategy for the Development of Vietnam's Cultural Industries to 2030, with a vision to 2045, with the spirit of promoting the internationalization of national cultural values and identities to the world and the nationalization of the world's cultural quintessence into Vietnam. Vietnam wishes to accompany and receive support and cooperation from Korea in the process of building and implementing strategies and policies to promote the strong and effective development of cultural industries in the coming time.

With the viewpoint "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together", the Prime Minister highly appreciated and was pleased to see that along with tourism cooperation, the cultural cooperation between Vietnam and Korea has been constantly nurtured and strongly developed. According to the Prime Minister, today's forum is a valuable and useful opportunity for both sides to share and exchange, opening a new, more successful and prosperous period for tourism development and cultural cooperation between Vietnam and Korea.

On this occasion, the Prime Minister acknowledged and thanked Mr. Ly Xuong Can for his valuable contributions in his capacity as Vietnam Tourism Ambassador to Korea and hoped that he and his colleagues would continue to contribute more to the cooperation in tourism development between the two countries; respectfully acknowledged the contributions of Korean corporations that have actively invested in the cultural and tourism sectors of Vietnam.

The Prime Minister asked the Republic of Korea to support and facilitate the establishment of the Vietnam Cultural Center in Korea; and asked Korean businesses to continue to promote investment in the fields of tourism, cultural industry, creative entertainment, etc. in Vietnam. The Prime Minister believes that the national tourism agency, local authorities, airlines, travel and tourism companies, accommodation facilities, hotels, and Vietnamese and Korean businesses will work together to come up with specific and practical cooperation programs and projects to bring Vietnam-Korea cultural and tourism cooperation to a new level.

At the forum, witnessed by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Vietnamese and Korean agencies and enterprises exchanged 10 memorandums of understanding on cultural, trade and tourism cooperation. In particular, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Korean Tourism Bureau exchanged a memorandum of understanding on tourism cooperation for the period 2025 - 2026; Vietnam Airlines exchanged 4 memorandums of understanding on tourism cooperation with 4 Korean partners; Vietjet Air celebrated 10 years of opening flights to the "Land of Kim Chi", and announced a new route Daegu - Nha Trang. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism presented the decision to re-appoint Mr. Ly Xuong Can (31st generation descendant of King Ly Thai To and 26th generation of Prince Ly Long Tuong) currently living in Korea as Vietnam Tourism Ambassador.

(VNA)

Source: https://baoninhbinh.org.vn/thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-du-dien-dan-xuc-tien-du-lich-va/d2024063015382100.htm