Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul held an ROK-Viet Nam Foreign Ministers' Dialogue with Bui Thanh Son, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, on May 31. The Dialogue, held during Minister Son’s official visit to Korea from May 30 to June 1, covered ways to step up cooperation across the board, including diplomacy and security; trade and investment; energy, resources and supply chains; climate change and environment; development cooperation; cultural and people-to-people exchanges; and regional and global issues.

Following the Dialogue, Minister Cho hosted an official welcome luncheon. After the luncheon, the two Ministers took a walk in the royal Gyeongbokgung Palace, while having a friendly conversation to strengthen their friendship and solidarity.

During the Dialogue, Minister Cho appreciated that private firms had contributed significantly to the growth of Korea and Viet Nam into close economic partners. On that note, he requested that Viet Nam pay special attention and extend support to Korean companies operating in Viet Nam by seeking solutions to issues such as the establishment of Korean banks and branches of the kind, amendment of Viet Nam’s value-added tax law and introduction of a global minimum tax, various tax-related issues, and promotion of customs-related convenience. Minister Son responded that Viet Nam will actively seek ways to address these concerns.

The two Ministers agreed to further enhance and expand mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of high-tech industries, digitalization, green energy, green transition, and supply chains for critical minerals. Minister Son expressed hope for increased investment from Korea in the semiconductor sector, as well as stronger cooperation with Korea in the development of industrial workforce. Minister Cho affirmed that Korea would continue to pursue mutually beneficial cooperation, including by expanding development cooperation projects designed to meet Viet Nam’s industrial needs.

Minister Cho noted that the number of Korean visitors to Viet Nam reached approximately 3.6 million last year, indicating a rapid recovery of the volume of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries to pre-COVID-19 levels. He requested continued cooperation and support from Viet Nam to ensure the safety and convenience of Korean travelers and residents in Viet Nam. Both Ministers agreed to strengthen policy cooperation to support their respective expatriate communities in each other’s countries.

The two Ministers also exchanged views on major regional and global issues as well as ways to contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the region. Minister Cho stressed that it is important for the international community to send a firm and united message against North Korea's recent series of nuclear and missile  provocations and other tension-escalating actions in the region, including the launch of a military reconnaissance satellite on May 27, the launch of ballistic missiles on May 30, the launch of trash-carrying balloons towards the ROK, and GPS signal jamming. Minster Cho asked Viet Nam and ASEAN to play an active role in inducing North Korea to halt all illegal activities, including the nuclear and missile development, and to return to the path of dialogue and denuclearization.

The Ministers acknowledged that frequent high-level communication and cooperation between Korea and Viet Nam, including their leaders’ reciprocal state visits in the past two years and the four summit exchanges last year alone, clearly demonstrate the special relationship between the two countries, and agreed to continue close cooperation to further boost high-level exchanges that drive the development of the ROK-Viet Nam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.