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Viet Nam News

Publication Date : 28-02-2013

Vietnam wishes to deepen its strategic co-operative partnership with South Korea, Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan said while meeting with South Korea’s newly sworn-in President Park Geun-hye in Seoul on Tuesday.

At the meeting, Doan handed Park congratulatory messages from President Truong Tan Sang and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and delivered Sang’s invitation for her to pay an official visit to Vietnam.

Doan predicted that under Park’s leadership, South Korea would continue to prosper and gain a higher position in the international arena.

She expressed hope that the South Korean government would continue to provide support for Vietnamese living in South Korea, one of Vietnam’s major labour export markets.

Park thanked Doan for attending her inauguration ceremony and said that the South Korean government - and she herself - paid keen attention to nurturing the country’s relationship with Vietnam.

She also expressed delight that the bilateral trade turnover reached US$20 billion in 2012, the year the two countries celebrated their 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Both sides aim to raise the figure to $30 billion this year.

She affirmed that South Korea government would support Vietnamese people living in the country, particularly Vietnamese women married to South Korean men.

Doan also met with three big South Korean economic groups (Lotte, Chamvit and LG) that have investment projects in Vietnam. She affirmed the hosts that Vietnam would continue to create an attractive environment for foreign investors.

During her trip, Doan also sat down with United Kingdoms Minister of State at the Foreign Common Wealth Office Hon Hugo Swire.

She expressed hope that the UK would urge the rest of the EU to recognise Vietnam’s market economy and to support the World Bank to continue providing development loans for Vietnam.

Doan also asked the UK to continue to provide Official Development Assistance to Vietnam in its strong areas such as finance, petro-chemistry, science and technology.

For his part, Swire expressed his wish that the two sides continue to develop their strategic co-operative partnership, in addition to boosting cooperation in both economics and culture.