HCMC – Riding on their fruitful relationship, Vietnam and South Korea have agreed to push bilateral trade up to US$150 billion by 2030.

Today, Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong held talks in Hanoi with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is in Vietnam for a three-day State visit which will end tomorrow, June 24, said local news reports.

The two heads of state highlighted the need for a balanced and sustainable manner.

Vietnam has a huge trade deficit with South Korea. In the January-October period last year, Vietnam shipped US$20.62 billion worth of goods to South Korea while spending US$53 billion on goods imports from the Northeast Asian country, leaving a trade deficit of US$32.38 billion.

The South Korean side agreed to further open its market for Vietnamese farm and fisheries products and seasonal fruits, and support Vietnamese businesses to join more deeply in the global supply chains of South Korean companies.

Meanwhile, Vietnam wants South Korean businesses to get more involved in priority fields such as infrastructure development, projects of national importance and build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects like thermal power plants, liquefied natural gas (LNG), high-tech electronics and semiconductors, big data, biotechnology and smart city development.

President Thuong said that Vietnam consistently backs South Korea’s greater role in the region and the world. Meanwhile, President Yoon said that his nation always values the comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam and considers Vietnam a key partner and a priority in its policies for the region.

Both sides highlighted the renewal of the memorandum of understanding on sending Vietnamese to South Korea for guest work under the Employment Permit System (EPS).

South Korea said it would help Vietnam gain access to core and modern technologies, and carry out strategic tasks related to climate change adaptation and greenhouse gas emission reductions in line with Vietnam’s net-zero commitment at COP26.

They emphasized the importance of ensuring peace, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea; maintaining a peaceful, stable environment and a legal order; and resolving disputes at sea through peaceful means to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of nations in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

After their talks, the two presidents witnessed the signing of 17 bilateral cooperation documents in the fields of economy, trade, finance, development cooperation, labor, environmental resources, coast guard and locality-to-locality cooperation.