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President Nguyen Xuan Phuc's upcoming state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) from December 4-6 will open up a new chapter in Vietnam-RoK relations, Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Nguyen Vu Tung said in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s resident correspondent in Seoul.
The visit, made at the invitation of RoK President Yoon Suk-yeol, will take place at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 30th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties and determined to lift their relations to a greater height towards new achievements in various spheres, Tung said.
He added that Vietnam and the RoK are entering a pivotal period to carry out their own development strategies, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. The bilateral relations, especially economic ties, are expected to make important contributions to socio-economic development in each country.
Amid rapid, complicated and uncertain political and economic developments in the world, cooperation demand among countries, especially among traditional and comprehensive partners, is growing to contribute to reinforcing peace, stability and development in the region and the world, according to the diplomat.
Notably, Vietnam is actively performing its foreign policy adopted by the 13th National Party Congress. The new administration of President Yoon has basically shaped major orientations in the RoK's foreign policy in the coming time, in which the Indo-Pacific plays the most important role in the RoK's global policy while the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is seen as a centerpiece in its Indo-Pacific strategy, with Vietnam being a key country in the bloc, he said.
According to the ambassador, President Phuc is the first head of state to visit the RoK right after the East Asian nation unveiled the Indo-Pacific strategy and the Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative. As Vietnam is a coordinator of ASEAN-RoK relations for the 2021-2024 period, President Phuc’s visit is of great significance both bilaterally and multilaterally, and on both national and global levels.
About key points in the agenda, Tung revealed that the two Presidents will discuss and reach consensus on the upgrade of the bilateral ties as well as lay out major orientations to the bilateral comprehensive and strategic relationship.
This will be also the first state-level visit by a foreign leader to the RoK after President Yoon took office, showing the interest of the two countries’ leaders in fostering the bilateral ties via increasing the exchange of high-ranking delegations, he said, adding that Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Phuc and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had previously held phone talks with President Yoon. National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Vo Van Thuong had also visited the RoK.
The two sides will debate and strengthen consensus on the regional and global situation, thereby enhancing their bilateral cooperation at multilateral forums for basic national interests of each country and for the sake of regional and global peace, stability and prosperity, the ambassador said.
President Phuc is also scheduled to meet with representatives of the Vietnamese community in Seoul and other localities to learn about their aspirations, attend a Vietnam-RoK Business Forum, receive representatives of major Korean groups and RoK-Vietnam friendship associations, and inaugurate Vietnam Days in the RoK with a display of folk culture, cuisine, traditional and contemporary music performances which are expected to popularise Vietnam’s culture in the country and promote people-to-people exchanges, he added.
