Hanoi (VNA) - Speaker of the Republic of Korea(RoK)’s National Assembly (NA) Park Byeong-seug left Ho Chi Minh City onNovember 4 evening, concluding his five-day official visit to Vietnam at theinvitation of Vietnamese NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

During the trip, Park held talks with the Vietnamese toplegislator, paid a courtesy call to Party General Secretary and State PresidentNguyen Phu Trong, met Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and received Presidentof the Vietnam-RoK Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group Tran Van Tuy.

At these functions, both sides affirmed the two nationsshared a long standing relationship and people-to-people exchange, with theirstrategic cooperative partnership deepened and growing robustly.

The RoK is the biggest among 136 foreign investors inVietnam by registering a total capital of 70.2 billion USD and operating closeto 9,000 valid projects. It also ranks second in ODA provision for, trade with,and reception of workers from Vietnam. It is also one of the key sources offoreign tourists to the Southeast Asian country.

The Vietnamese side appreciated the RoK Government’spresentation of the 300,000 USD aid to the country’s Central Steering Committeefor Natural Disaster Prevention and Control to help address heavy consequencescaused by recent storms and floods in the central region.

Regarding East Sea issue, the sides affirmed the importanceof maintaining peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation andoverflight in the waters, along with peacefully resolving disputes in line withinternational law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Meanwhile, they said the two parliaments have cooperatedwell to contribute to the Vietnam-RoK strategic cooperative partnership. Viaparliamentary diplomacy, the two sides have helped enhance political trust andpeople-to-people exchange, expand and improve the effectiveness of cooperationin different fields, and share views on regional and international issues ofcommon concern. They have also supported the two governments’ cooperationprogrammes and plans as well as the regional cooperation and connectivityframeworks that both countries promote.

Currently, the two legislatures are implementing theircooperation pacts signed in July 2013, with delegation exchanges wellorganised.

The two parliaments agreed to maintain all-level meetings inflexible forms amid the COVID-19 pandemic and to create a favourableenvironment for concurrently fighting against the disease, boostingsocio-economic development, and gradually bringing bilateral collaboration tonormal.

They also agreed to further listen to opinions fromVietnamese and RoK citizens so as to monitor the implementation of policies,thus creating a stable and favourable legal environment for citizens living ineach other’s territories. In addition, they would continue bringing into playthe role of their parliamentary friendship groups.

While in Vietnam, the RoK top legislator took time to paytribute to late President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum; visited the northernprovince of Ninh Binh and Ho Chi Minh City; and toured the Samsung Vietnamfactory in Bac Ninh./.