Nghe An participates in the 'Meet Korea' Conference in Hanoi

On the morning of June 30, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinated with the Korean Embassy in Vietnam to organize the “Meet Korea” conference. At the conference, Nghe An province delivered an important speech in the second working session with the theme: Strengthening local-level cooperation and people-to-people diplomacy between Vietnam and Korea after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Attending the conference were comrades: Bui Thanh Son - Member of the Party Central Committee, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; Nguyen Vu Tung - Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea; leaders of the General Departments of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, and leaders of provinces, departments and branches of 51 centrally-run cities. On the Korean side, there were Mr. Park Noh Wan - Korean Ambassador to Vietnam; international organizations, corporations, Korean business associations, and Korean investors. Photo: Pham Bang

Comrade Nguyen Duc Trung - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghe An province led the Nghe An delegation to attend the conference and delivered an important speech. Photo: Pham Bang

FOCUS PARTNER, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Speaking at the opening session, Mr. Bui Thanh Son - Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs affirmed that the relationship between Vietnam and Korea is developing well. Korea is a leading important partner of Vietnam, Vietnam is a key partner in Korea's New Southern Policy.

The relationship between the two countries is not only that of ordinary partners, but also of in-laws. Currently, there are about 65,000 Vietnamese and Korean families connecting the two countries. In addition to similarities in culture and history, the two countries share many values ​​of interests and sustainable development.

Comrade Bui Thanh Son - Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam delivered the opening speech at the conference. Photo: Pham Bang

Cooperation between the two countries has developed sustainably in many fields in recent years, in which economic cooperation has always been an important pillar and a bright spot. Korea is currently the largest investor in Vietnam, with a total capital of nearly 70 billion USD and more than 8,000 projects, creating jobs for over 70,000 workers in many localities.

South Korea is Vietnam's second largest trading partner, with two-way trade turnover in 2019 reaching nearly 70 billion USD, and the two countries are striving to soon increase this figure to 100 billion USD. South Korea is also Vietnam's second largest tourism partner.

Delegates witness the signing ceremony of cooperation between Vietnam and Korea. Photo: Pham Bang

With goodwill and determination, the governments, businesses and people of the two countries have overcome difficulties together, building a solid foundation for a comprehensive and long-term friendly and cooperative relationship. To continue to firmly overcome challenges for mutual development, the Covid-19 pandemic is causing difficulties for many countries. Vietnam and Korea are considered typical examples of the world in disease prevention and control.

Vietnam has supported many Korean experts and engineers to enter Vietnam. The Vietnamese government will continue to support and create favorable conditions for foreign enterprises, including Korean ones, to do business conveniently, safely and long-term in Vietnam.

"More than ever, we need to unite and continue to unite and support each other. We firmly believe that, with the affection and determination of the Governments and people of the two countries, Vietnam and Korea will continue to cooperate well, creating new, substantive and effective results in the coming time. Like two hands joining together to create loud, joyful, happy applause and many successes."

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tran Thanh Son

At the conference, Mr. Park Noh Wan - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Korea, international organizations, Korean organizations, and Vietnamese representative agencies discussed the advantages and difficulties, as well as clarified the results in various fields of the two countries in recent times.

COOPERATION FOR DEVELOPMENT

At the second session with the theme: Strengthening local-level cooperation and people-to-people diplomacy between Vietnam and Korea after the Covid-19 pandemic, comrade Nguyen Duc Trung - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee gave an important speech.

Comrade Nguyen Duc Trung emphasized that not only at the national level, the relationship between Vietnamese and Korean localities is also very good.

For example, Nghe An province has signed a friendship and cooperation agreement with Gyeonggi province. Every year, both sides organize delegations of officials, businesses, students and youth to exchange culture and learn from each other's experiences. At the district level, Vinh city has cooperated with Namyangju city, Gyeonggi province, South Korea since 2005. In addition, Nghe An receives support from Korean organizations.

Overview of the second session of the conference. Photo: Pham Bang

In Nghe An province, there are currently 28 FDI projects from Korea with a total committed investment capital of 175.76 million USD, with diverse industries such as garment, electronic components manufacturing, telecommunications equipment, entertainment. These are the fields that create jobs and income for people, contributing to the socio-economic development of the area. In addition, in Nghe An, there are currently about 2,000 Korean experts working to help train many Nghe An workers.

In addition, Korean culture, fashion, cosmetics, and cuisine are very rich. In Vinh City, there are 20 Korean restaurants.

However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many exchange and cooperation programs taking place in Nghe An could not take place as planned. Nghe An always hopes for cooperation and investment between the two countries and businesses in Nghe An. In order to promote local cooperation and people-to-people exchange after Covid-19, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee has 4 proposals:

Class time of students of Vietnam - Korea Technical College. Photo: Document

The first,Vietnam and Korea need to promote tourism and sightseeing activities, develop community tourism activities...

Monday, people-to-people exchanges, expanding twinning between schools, localities and corporations, and conducting joint research projects with the participation of scholars and experts from both countries.

Tuesday,In addition to government agreement scholarships, local authorities need to consider increasing scholarships for students, officials and civil servants of both sides to study and work at training facilities of both sides.

Wednesday,Strengthen learning Vietnamese and Korean in each country because learning languages ​​means we are learning each other's culture.

Comrade Nguyen Duc Trung - Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee spoke at the 2nd session. Photo: Pham Bang

Reiterating the words of South Korean President Moon Jae In, that the relationship between Vietnam and South Korea is like “brothers in the same family” and the Vietnamese people have a saying “brothers are like arms and legs”, the Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee hopes that the two countries will support each other and further strengthen local cooperation in the coming time.

TOWARDS COMPREHENSIVE PARTNERSHIP

In his concluding remarks, Mr. Bui Thanh Son - Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs assessed that the conference was a great success. The conference was attended by more than 800 delegates, who exchanged and discussed enthusiastically, demonstrating that both sides care about each other.

Comrade Bui Thanh Son - Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam delivered a concluding speech at the conference. Photo: Pham Bang

“The exchange format is concise, effective and needs to be maintained. The content of the exchange is very practical and effective, sharing many experiences and orienting many issues with agencies between the two countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will resolve opinions within its authority, and at the same time synthesize opinions to submit to the Government for resolution, including issues of economic recovery after Covid-19,” said Deputy Minister Bui Thanh Son.

The Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs hopes that the two sides will continue to meet each other, thereby bringing about projects that contribute to the economic development of each country. Thereby, contributing to deepening the cooperative relationship, towards a comprehensive partnership between the two countries in the coming time.