Seoul (VNA) – The National Assemblyof Vietnam is willing to work with its counterpart in the Republic of Korea tofurther enhance the sound friendship and sustainable cooperation between thetwo parliaments, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan affirmed during talks withSpeaker of the RoK National Assembly Moon Hee-sang in Seoul on December 6.

This will contribute to promoting the strategiccooperative partnership between the two countries and for the sake of theirpeoples, Ngan said.

She agreed with the RoK Speaker that thefriendship and cooperation between the two countries have witnessed remarkablestrides and become even closer since the establishment of diplomatic ties in1992, especially in the fields of politics, economy, culture, andpeople-to-people exchange.

Bilateral relations have been developingcomprehensively in all fields, Ngan said, adding that Vietnam and the RoK havebecome leading partners of each other in various realms.

The top legislator spoke highly of the statevisit to Vietnam by RoK President Moon Jae-in in March 2018, which, she said,was an important highlight in the development of the bilateral rapport.

The maintenance of high-level visits across allchannels, from the State and National Assembly to the Government, hassignificant meaning in enhancing the multi-faceted cooperation between the twocountries as well as promoting exchanges between ministries, localities, andpeoples to increase their mutual understanding, she said.

She added that Vietnam attaches great importanceto developing cooperative relations with the RoK and considers the country animportant long-term partner.

The two countries share many historical andcultural similarities and hold common benefits in maintaining peace, stability,and cooperation for the development of each nation as well as the region andthe world.

Vietnam is willing to work with the RoK towards elevatingthe bilateral strategic partnership and cooperation expansion in variousfields, she noted.

For his part, Moon Hee-sang noted that Vietnamis the fourth biggest trade partner of the RoK. In 2017, two-way trade hit 63.9billion USD, a year-on-year rise of 40 percent. 

Meanwhile, the RoK is the largest investor in Vietnamwith 75 billion USD invested to date, he said.

The Speaker said that President Moon Jae-in putforth the New Southern Policy after taking up office to enhance relations withthe Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Vietnam is animportant country partner in various fields such as trade, investment, officialdevelopment assistance, and people-to-people exchange.

The President has always treasured relationswith Vietnam, he said, adding that during his visit to Vietnam in March 2018,the two countries’ leaders agreed to increase the bilateral trade to 100billion USD by 2020.

Speaker Moon Hee-sang hoped the VietnameseNational Assembly and Government will pay more attention to Korean businessesoperating in the country so they can contribute to realising the two-way tradetarget.

He stressed that Vietnam is the biggestdevelopment cooperation partner of the RoK and hoped the two sides will worktogether to building win-win cooperation.

He also mentioned the enhancement ofpeople-to-people exchange and the protection of the two countries’citizens. 

The RoK has provided many policies to supportVietnam-RoK multicultural families and ensure the legitimate rights andinterests of foreign workers, including those from Vietnam.

To raise a more balanced bilateral trade turnover to100 billion USD by 2020, Ngan suggested both sidescontinue maintaining bilateral cooperation mechanisms, like the joint committeeon cooperation in nuclear power, energy, and industry at the ministerial level;or the Vietnam-RoK inter-governmental committee on economic, scientific, andtechnological cooperation at deputy ministerial level.

She asked the RoK side to take specific measures to help Vietnam reduce its tradedeficit with the RoK; increase its exports of farm produce, seafood, andprocessed foods; and join the RoK’s global production and supply chains.

Vietnam will continue to create favorable conditions for RoK investors to joinin the country’s key projects, as well as the equitisation of state-ownedenterprises and banking restructuring, while also encouraging the transfer oftechnology in renewable energy and working together to effectively implementthe Vietnam-RoK Free Trade Agreement and the framework agreement between thetwo countries for credit from the Economic Development and Cooperation Fund(EDCF) for 2016-2020, she said.

She stressed that Vietnam highly values the RoK’s official developmentassistance (ODA), hoping that the RoK will continue to expand the capital inthe coming time in line with particular conditions and demands of Vietnam inpriority fields like transport infrastructure and transportation technology,urban development, agriculture and rural development, high-quality human resourcestraining, and especially the developed application of science-technology in theFourth Industrial Revolution.

She took this opportunity to welcome the RoK Government’s new visa policy forVietnam, while proposing both sides coordinate to promote tourism cooperation,facilitate the granting of visas for Vietnamese citizens, and consider theexemption of tourism visa fees for Vietnamese tourists.

The RoK is one of Vietnam’s key sources for tourism markets. There are around1,000 direct flights between the two countries each month. The launch of adirect route between Seoul and Phu Quoc is expected to be announced at theVietnam-RoK investment and trade forum as part of this visit, she said.

Chairwoman Ngan highly values the cooperation in security and defence betweenthe two countries, saying that the collaboration will continue to develop in asubstantial and effective manner following the signing of the Vietnam-RoK JointVision Statement on Defence Cooperation towards 2030 in April 2018, and the memorandum of understanding (MoU)on logistics support in the United Nations peacekeepingmission and natural disaster humanitarian support in June 2018 between the twodefence ministries.

She proposed that both sides firmly implement existing cooperation mechanismsand agreements, including the diplomacy-security-defence strategic dialogue atthe deputy ministerial level, the Vietnam-RoK security dialogue at the deputyministerial level, and Vietnam-RoK defence dialogue at the deputy ministeriallevel.

Regarding labour cooperation, the NA Chairwomanvalued the RoK Government’s agreement to sign a special memorandum ofunderstanding on labour cooperation and the renewal of the standard MoU inMarch 2018 on the basis of respecting relations with Vietnam.

She suggested the two sides continue to effectively realise the MoU ondispatching and receiving Vietnamese workers and expand those eligible to workin different areas in the RoK under theEmployment Permit System (EPS), as well as consider increasing the quota forVietnam.

At the talks, the leaders expressed their delight at the bustlingpeople-to-people exchange. The Vietnamese community in the RoK numbers nearly197,000, including over 48,000 workers and 42,000 students. Meanwhile, around150,000 Koreans are currently living in Vietnam.

The two countries also boast very close-knit ties with around 68,000 citizens havingVietnam-ROK transnational marriages. Up to 60 cities and provinces of Vietnamand the RoK have signed and effectively implemented their cooperationagreements.

NA Chairwoman Ngan expressed her belief that with such large communities, thetwo sides will create favourable environments for overseas residents to liveand work in each country. She affirmed that the Vietnamese NA always supportsthe two governments in accelerating negotiations for the signing of anagreement on judicial assistance in civil and commercial matters in order toensure the legitimate interests of the two countries’ peoples.

She wished that the RoK National Assembly and Speaker Moon Hee-sang will raisetheir voices in support of the Vietnamese community in the RoK, especiallyworkers and women married to Koreans, towards leading a stable life with fulllegal status to integrate into the host country’s society.

She also hoped for the expansion of Korean and Vietnamese language teaching inboth countries, especially teaching Vietnamese for second generations ofVietnamese-Korean multicultural families.

On the occasion, the Vietnamese leader expressed her thanks to Korean coachPark Hang-seo, who has led the Vietnam U23 football team to obtainunprecedented victories in major international tournaments.

On international issues, NA Chairwoman Ngan stressed that Vietnam applauds theRoK’s “New Southern Policy”, which focuses on bolstering cooperation with ASEANcountries, particularly Vietnam.

Vietnam is ready to act as a bridge to promote multifaceted cooperation betweenthe RoK and ASEAN member states, she said, adding that it also appreciates andsupports the RoK’s efforts to ease tension, as well as boost dialogue andcollaboration in such issues as the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsulaand inter-Korea relations. 

Vietnam hopes that the efforts of the RoK and concerned parties will recordpractical progress, thereby helping protect the environment of peace,stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world, she noted.

Vietnam appreciates the RoK’s stance on the East Sea issue, she said, askingthe RoK to continue supporting the position of Vietnam and ASEAN in maintainingpeace and stability, and addressing disputes in the East Sea by peacefulmeasures in line with international law, with the full implementation of theDeclaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) towards the conclusionof a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

Regarding the relations between the two parliaments, Ngan said that theVietnamese legislature always wishes and stays ready to closely cooperate withits RoK counterpart to support and foster the strategic cooperative partnershipbetween the two nations.

She agreed with Moon on the maintenance of the regular exchange of all-leveldelegations to share experience in legislative activities and coordinate insupervising the realisation of cooperation agreements signed between the two governments.  

The legislative bodies should listen to business communities and citizens inorder to create a favourable legal environment for cooperation, exchange, andcitizen protection activities.

They will continue promoting the role of their friendship parliamentarians’groups to form bridges, boost delegation exchanges and information sharing, aswell as seek new effective forms of collaboration.

The two sides will increase coordination and mutual support at inter-parliamentaryforums, thus contributing to maintaining an environment of peace, stability,cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

On the occasion, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan invited her RoK counterpartto visit Vietnam when the time suits. –VNA