Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhtalked over the phone with his counterpart from the Republic of Korea (RoK) HanDuck-soo on July 5, during which the two leaders compared notes on measures toboost the bilateral relations.

This was the first phone talk by the RoK’s PM with aforeign leader since he took office.

Congratulating Han on his appointment as the RoK's PM, Chinh said despite global and regional uncertainties, including COVID-19impacts, the relationship between Vietnam and the RoK has maintained its stabledevelopment pace, and the two countries have become leading important partnersof each other, especially in economy, trade and investment.

He affirmed Vietnam’s consistent foreign policy ofindependence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification ofrelations, and being a friend, a reliable partner and an active, responsiblemember of the international community.

Vietnam always regards the RoK as an important,long-term strategic partner, and wishes to work together with the East Asian country todeepen the relationship, for the sake of people, and for peace, stability,cooperation and development in the region and the world at large, the PM said.

For his part, Han congratulated Vietnam on achievementsit has recorded over the past time, particularly in pandemic containment andeconomic growth, noting that the RoK considers Vietnam a leading importantpartner and wishes to work with the Southeast Asian country to enhance the bilateral relations sustainablyin the time ahead.

He used this occasion to thank the Vietnamesegovernment for its support to Korean firms, helping them maintain production inthe country, especially amid the COVID-19 spread over the past time.

For specific measures to step up the bilateral ties,the two PMs agreed to implement the outcomes of the online talks between GeneralSecretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on June 8, continueclose coordination between the two sides in organising activities marking the30th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties this year, andeffectively implement bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms such asthe Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) in order to soon raise two-way trade value to 100billion USD in 2023 and 150 billion USD by 2030.

The two sides will handle trade imbalances andfacilitate the penetration of Vietnamese goods like agricultural and aquatic products into the Korean market, and encourage Korean businesses to expandinvestment in Vietnam, prioritising digital technology, electronics, renewableenergy and infrastructure development.

Vietnam pledged to create optimal conditions forKorean enterprises as well as foreign investors to run long-term business inthe country.

The leaders also consented to maintain and promoteeffective official development assistance (ODA) cooperation mechanisms, andexpand the scale of ODA supply for Vietnam.

The two countries will enhance collaboration inlabour, tourism, people-to-people and cultural exchanges and entertainment industry,and support their overseas citizens, especially Vietnamese brides in the RoK.

The PMs also concurred to foster cooperation in international issues and at different forums.

Regarding the East Sea issue, they shared the commonvision on maintaining peace and stability, ensuring security, safety andfreedom of navigation in the East Sea, settling disputes at seaby peaceful measures, and ensuring rights and legitimate interests of countriesin line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention onthe Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)./.