Hanoi (VNA) -𝓀 Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted a reception for his Korean counterpart Han Duck Soo who led a high-level delegation to Vietnam to attend the state funeral for General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong on July 25 in Hanoi.

Chinh sincerely thanked President Yoon Suk-yeol and the RoK government for sending condolences and a delegation led by PM Han Duck Soo - the special envoy of the RoK President - to Vietnam to pay tribute to the late leader, emphasising that this is a valuable expression of special regard from the RoK government and people to the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, as well as to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong personally. The Vietnamese government leader emphasised that the passing of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is a great loss for the Party, the Government and the people of Vietnam, and his family. In his lifetime, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong always valued and made significant contributions to elevating the bilateral cooperation between Vietnam and the RoK to new heights, helping upgrade the bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022; making the two countries key partners of each other; and enhancing people-to-people exchanges, cultural cooperation, and collaboration in various fields, PM Chinh said. For his part, PM Han extended his deepest condolences to the Government and people of Vietnam, as well as to the bereaved family over their great loss, affirming that the achievements and contributions by the deceased to the country, and the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and the RoK will always be remembered by the people of both countries. He expressed his belief that these achievements will serve as a solid foundation to further step up the bilateral relations in the coming time. PM Chinh affirmed the Party, Government, and people of Vietnam attach special importance to the relationship with the RoK, expressing the desire to continue further pushing the comprehensive strategic partnership in a more substantive and effective manner across all areas. He underlined the need for the two sides to continue strengthening political trust, promoting all-level delegation exchanges, and further expanding economic, trade, investment cooperation, and development partnership — the key pillars of the bilateral relations, aiming to realise the goal of 100 billion USD in two-way trade, towards the 150-billion-USD target by 2030. PM Chinh called on RoK businesses to continue expanding their investment in Vietnam, especially in cutting-edge and future industries such as semiconductors, digital transformation, green and circular economy, hi-technology, renewable energy, and artificial intelligence (AI). He suggested the RoK side increase non-refundable aid to Vietnam; consider providing large credit packages with concessional interest rates for strategic infrastructure projects such as high-speed railways and urban railways; expand cooperation with Vietnam in climate change response, labour, education, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges; enhance cooperation among localities; and create favourable conditions for citizens of each other. The RoK leader said Vietnam is a promising investment destination, with nearly 10,000 Korean firms already investing here. He suggested Vietnam continue its facilitation for RoK businesses to invest and expand their investment in the country. He thanked Vietnamese leaders for their attention to organising dialogues, resolving difficulties, and creating favourable conditions for Korean companies; and expressed his desire to further deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership practically and effectively in the time to come./.