HCM City (VNA)💙 - Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council Nguyen Thi Le on May 17 received Chairman of the Republic of Korea’s Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Council Bae Han-cheol, who is on a working trip to the Vietnamese south economic hub.

The host expressed her delight at the robust development of the bilateral relationship between Vietnam and the RoK across a wide variety of fields, especially the official elevation of the ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in December 2022. HCM City always considers the RoK one of its closest and most reliable partners, she said. The RoK is HCM City’s fourth largest investor with 2,196 projects worth 5.5 billion USD. Around 80,000 residents and 2,000 enterprises of the RoK are living and doing business in the south economic hub. They contribute significantly to HCM City’s development and serve as a bridge promoting cooperation between the two countries. HCM City has established friendship and cooperation with eight localities of the RoK, including Gyeongsangbuk. The two localities have engaged in numerous effective cooperation agreements, including delegation exchanges, mutual support in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, cultural exchanges, and trade promotion. Le briefed the guests on HCM City’s development orientations and vision, hoping that the Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Council will encourage Korean investors to explore cooperation opportunities in mutually beneficial projects in HCM City, especially in strategic areas such as infrastructure development, innovation, biotechnology, automation, new materials, green economy, clean energy, and tourism. For his part, Bae said the fruitful development of the bilateral relations between the two countries brings mutual benefits to the people of both nations. According to the official, Gyeongsangbuk has strengths in industry, information technology, and high-tech agriculture. It is home to the largest number of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites in the RoK, making it a favourite destination for foreign tourists. The strengths of Gyeongsangbuk are also areas that HCM City is interested in. Therefore, this will create opportunities for stronger cooperation between the two localities in the time ahead, he said. Many enterprises from Gyeongsangbuk are partners with Korean conglomerates in Vietnam, he said. This is a favourable condition for the RoK locality and HCM City to expand cooperation in investment, trade, and cultural exchange, thus contributing to tightening the friendship and cooperation between the two localities./.