Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) on September 9 issued a jointstatement during RoK President Park Geun Hye’s state visit to Vietnamfrom September 7-11.
Following is a VNA translation of the full text of the joint statement:
“Atthe invitation of the President of the Socialist Republic of VietnamTruong Tan Sang, President of the Republic of Korea Park Geun-Hye paid astate visit to Vietnam from September 7-11.
Duringher stay, President Park held talks with President Sang, met with PartyGeneral Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung andNational Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung.
President Sang and President Park exchanged views on issues of mutualconcern, including the Vietnam-RoK bilateral ties, the situation on theKorean peninsula and regional and international matters.
The two sides agreed to promote the development of their strategiccooperation partnership for common prosperity and the well-being of thetwo peoples.
1. Revision Bilateral Relations
The twosides expressed their pleasure at the gigantic development of thebilateral relations in the fields of politics, economics, society,culture and people-to-people exchange since the establishment of theirdiplomatic ties in 1992.
They agreed to furtherpromote the Vietnam-RoK strategic cooperation partnership which was setup in 2009, making it more practical and continue to collaborate closelyin the issues not only within the bilateral framework but also faced byinternational community.
2. Practical Development of Strategic Cooperation Partnership
2.1 Strengthening Political-Security Cooperation
2.1.1The two sides agreed to strive to hold regular high-ranking talks inthe forms of bilateral visits or meetings on the occasion ofmultilateral conferences; further promote the exchange of personnelbetween the Parties, Governments and legislature bodies of the twocountries.
2.1.2 They held that the strategicdiplomacy-security-defence dialogue held in Hanoi in March 2011 andSeoul in August 2013 contributed to increasing the strategic mutualunderstanding and trust between the two countries, and agreed tocontinue organising the dialogue mechanism regularly.
2.1.3.The two sides believed that the first defence policy dialogue held inHanoi in March 2012 was a good chance for them to exchange views onregional security and defence cooperation exchanges; and agreed todeepen exchanges in defence cooperation between the two countriesthrough the second defence policy dialogue slated for November 2013 inSeoul.
2.1.4. Both sides reached consensus tocontinue strengthening the cooperation on the training of defence anddefence industry staff and peacekeeping experience sharing, thuscontributing to maintaining peace and stability in the region and theworld.
2.2. Expansion of Economic-Trade Cooperation
2.2.1.The two sides expressed their pleasure at the fulfillment of the targetto raise bilateral trade to 20 billion USD in 2012, three years earlierthan the goal set in 2009.
They agreed to head to atwo-way trade of 70 billion USD by 2020 through continuing expandingbilateral trade ties on the basis of mutual interest.
The RoK side shared the view on the necessity to foster the export of Vietnamese goods to the RoK.
The two sides agreed to positively seek and implement practical measures to expand bilateral trade more equally.
2.2.2. Both sides agreed on the need to accelerate negotiations forthe signing of the Vietnam-RoK Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) at a highand comprehensive level in 2014 while considering the developmentdifferences between the two countries.
2.2.3. TheVietnamese side highly appreciated the investment by businesses from theRoK, one of Vietnam’s major investors, who contribute to promotingVietnam’s industrialisation and export growth, and affirmed to makeevery effort to improve the investment and business environment andcreate conditions for RoK businesses to expand their business in Vietnam
Vietnam welcomed RoK firms to increase investmentin the building of infrastructure, high-technology, support andmanufacturing industries, and expressed hope that these investmentactivities will contribute to the common development of both nations.
The two sides agreed to promote the sharing ofpublic-private partnership expertise and support enterprises of bothsides to take part in civil investment projects.
2.2.4. The two sides spoke highly of the outcomes of their financialcooperation over the past time, including the active participation ofRoK financial companies, and welcomed the signing of a Memorandum ofUnderstanding on the establishment of a representative office of the RoKFinancial Supervisory Commission in Vietnam, hoping that the officewill play an important role in strengthening financial cooperationbetween the two countries in the future.
2.2.5. Bothsides highly appreciated their close cooperation in labour andemployment over the past time and agreed to speed up joint projects onbuilding policy, supporting infrastructure development and improvingmanagement capacity in labour-employment.
They heldthat the Employment Permit System deployed in 2004 has contributed toeconomic development of each country and agreed to make efforts toresume the programme which expired in 2012.
2.2.6.The two sides highly valued the cooperation between relevant agencies ofthe two countries in using nuclear power for peaceful purposes,welcomed the start of a pre-feasibility study for a nuclear power plantin Vietnam in June this year following the Overall Joint Proposed Plan(OJPP) for nuclear power development cooperation in Vietnam which wasagreed upon in 2011.
The two sides held that thesharing of RoK experience and nuclear power development technology willcontribute to developing Vietnam’s nuclear industry.
They both agreed to continue cooperation in order to develop nuclear power in Vietnam.
2.2.7. The two sides took note of the busy cooperation between the twocountries in technical industries such as researching and developingthe support industry, training technical human resources inmanufacturing and building technological incubators.
They shared the view that these activities have contributed to promoting the two countries’ common development.
2.2.8. Both sides welcomed the signing of a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU) between the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry andTrade and the RoK Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy on distributionand logistics, saying they believed the MOU will intensify cooperationbetween the two countries in supporting businesses and experiencesharing in the field.
2.2.9. The two sides agreed tocooperate and support RoK businesses to take part in energyinfrastructure projects, including the Dung Quat oil storage and athermal power plant in the south of Vietnam.
Thetwo sides also welcomed the signing of an MOU on accelerating theimplementation of the BOT Nghi Son 2 thermal power plant between theThanh Hoa provincial People’s Committee and the RoK Electric Power Corp.
2.2.10. Both sides were unanimous to intensify cooperation inthe production and distribution of food and agro-fisheries products,food safety and quarantine. They agreed to speed up the signing of an MOU on comprehensive agriculturalcooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment and the RoK’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and RuralAffairs.
2.2.11. The countries agreed to further theircooperation in space data. The RoK pledged to support Vietnam to buildand expand a comprehensive management system over land informationnationwide.
2.2.12. To minimise economic, social andenvironmental damage caused by impacts of the climate change, theyagreed to consider accelerating a project to prevent the desertificationin Vietnam’s central region and joint afforestation projects.
2.3. Development cooperation
2.3.1. Vietnam and the RoK shared their view that the developmentcooperation contributes to the growth of their relations, and agreed tofoster their cooperation to advance the development efficiency andexpand the development cooperation between the two countries.
They reached an agreement to exert every effort to realise the VietnamPartnership Document for the execution of the Busan PartnershipDocument for Effective Development Cooperation.
2.3.2.Both Vietnam and the RoK attached the importance of science andtechnology development to Vietnam’s sustainable growth. They welcomedthe signing of an agreement to establish the Vietnam – Korea Instituteof Science and Technology (V-KIST), funded by the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency (KOICA), and agreed to work closely to make it asuccessful model of development cooperation between the two countries.
2.3.3. They reached consensus on stepping up the “Vietnam HappinessProgramme”, which comprehensively develops underdeveloped areas in linewith the RoK’s New Villages Movement, contributing to the Vietnam’sdevelopment into a modern industrialised country by 2020.
2.3.4. Both sides spoke highly of their past cooperation in developingtransport infrastructure in Vietnam and were unanimous in bolsteringtheir ties in this field in the coming time, especially through thepublic-private partnership (PPP) model.
They applaudedthe signing of an MOU on cooperation in constructing Belt Road No.3 inHo Chi Minh City, the first PPP project financed by the RoK’s EconomicDevelopment Cooperation Fund (EDCF). They also agreed to facilitate theRoK’s businesses’ participation in this project.
2.4. Cultural and social cooperation
2.4.1. Vietnam and the RoK underlined the importance of boosting theunderstanding and closeness between the two peoples. They will continuestrengthening their multifaceted cooperation in such fields as languageteaching, culture, arts, and sports, while intensifying their ties inpeople-to-people diplomacy. The two countries also agreed to increasethe exchange of their young generations.
2.4.2. Theyreached an agreement in continuing their attention to protecting andensuring legitimate rights of each country’s citizens residing in theother side, providing necessary assistance to Vietnamese and Koreanmulticultural families, turning them into a bridge linking both peoples.
The two sides pledged to do their utmost to soonfinish the negotiations on a mutual legal assistance agreement in civilaffairs and trade. The RoK will consider measures to create favourableconditions for Vietnamese citizens to enter the country.
3. Expansion of cooperation in region and at international forums
3.1. The RoK voiced concern over the nuclear tests conducted by theDemocratic People's Republic of Korea ( DPRK ) and made itclear that the RoK does not accept the DPRK’s possession of nuclearunder any circumstance. Regarding this issue, the two sides agreed thatthe development of nuclear weapons is a threat to peace and stability ofthe Korea Peninsula, the East Asian region and the world at large. Bothsides called on the DPRK to implement all its obligations andinternational commitments including the United Nations (UN) SecurityCouncil resolutions and the Joint Statement of the Fourth Round ofthe Six - Party Talks held in Beijing on September 19,2005, and become a responsible member of the international community.The Vietnamese side applauded the policy known as the Trust -Building Process on the Korean Peninsula by President ParkGeun - hye that aims to establish sustainable peace on thepeninsula and back the Northeast Asian Peace and CooperationInitiative to further step up cooperation and establish trust in theAsia region.
3.2. The two sides agreed to work closelyat regional and international forums such as ASEAN+3, ASEAN RegionalForum (ARF), the East Asia Summit (EAS), the Asia-Pacific EconomicCooperation (APEC), the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the UN.
3.3. Both sides took note of the development of ASEAN-RoK ties overthe recent past, and held that the upgrade of the ties in 2010 helpedfurther boost their effective cooperation. Vietnam and RoK agreed tocoordinate closely to organise the 2014 ASEAN-RoK Special Summit hostedby the RoK to mark the 25th anniversary of the dialogue relationsbetween ASEAN and the RoK.
3.4. The two sides heldthat it is vital to foster the Mekong-RoK cooperation towards theestablishment of an ASEAN community. They expressed their hope that the 2nd Mekong-RoK Business Forum scheduled for 2014 in Vietnam will helpfurther strengthen civil cooperation between the two regions. Both sidesalso agreed to continue cooperation to establish the ASEAN community,which helps narrow the development gap between them and enhance theirlinkage.
3.5. Vietnam and the RoK stressed theimportance of maintaining peace, stability, maritime security and safetyat sea, and held that all disputes at sea must be settled by peacefulmeasures and in line with international law, including the 1982 UNConvention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The two sides asserted that President Park’s Vietnam visit plays acrucial role in taking their friendship cooperation to a new phase ofdevelopment. President Park expressed deep gratitude to the Vietnameseside’s hospitability and invited President Sang to visit the RoK at aconvenient time. President Sang accepted the invitation withpleasure.”-VNA
Following is a VNA translation of the full text of the joint statement:
“Atthe invitation of the President of the Socialist Republic of VietnamTruong Tan Sang, President of the Republic of Korea Park Geun-Hye paid astate visit to Vietnam from September 7-11.
Duringher stay, President Park held talks with President Sang, met with PartyGeneral Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung andNational Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung.
President Sang and President Park exchanged views on issues of mutualconcern, including the Vietnam-RoK bilateral ties, the situation on theKorean peninsula and regional and international matters.
The two sides agreed to promote the development of their strategiccooperation partnership for common prosperity and the well-being of thetwo peoples.
1. Revision Bilateral Relations
The twosides expressed their pleasure at the gigantic development of thebilateral relations in the fields of politics, economics, society,culture and people-to-people exchange since the establishment of theirdiplomatic ties in 1992.
They agreed to furtherpromote the Vietnam-RoK strategic cooperation partnership which was setup in 2009, making it more practical and continue to collaborate closelyin the issues not only within the bilateral framework but also faced byinternational community.
2. Practical Development of Strategic Cooperation Partnership
2.1 Strengthening Political-Security Cooperation
2.1.1The two sides agreed to strive to hold regular high-ranking talks inthe forms of bilateral visits or meetings on the occasion ofmultilateral conferences; further promote the exchange of personnelbetween the Parties, Governments and legislature bodies of the twocountries.
2.1.2 They held that the strategicdiplomacy-security-defence dialogue held in Hanoi in March 2011 andSeoul in August 2013 contributed to increasing the strategic mutualunderstanding and trust between the two countries, and agreed tocontinue organising the dialogue mechanism regularly.
2.1.3.The two sides believed that the first defence policy dialogue held inHanoi in March 2012 was a good chance for them to exchange views onregional security and defence cooperation exchanges; and agreed todeepen exchanges in defence cooperation between the two countriesthrough the second defence policy dialogue slated for November 2013 inSeoul.
2.1.4. Both sides reached consensus tocontinue strengthening the cooperation on the training of defence anddefence industry staff and peacekeeping experience sharing, thuscontributing to maintaining peace and stability in the region and theworld.
2.2. Expansion of Economic-Trade Cooperation
2.2.1.The two sides expressed their pleasure at the fulfillment of the targetto raise bilateral trade to 20 billion USD in 2012, three years earlierthan the goal set in 2009.
They agreed to head to atwo-way trade of 70 billion USD by 2020 through continuing expandingbilateral trade ties on the basis of mutual interest.
The RoK side shared the view on the necessity to foster the export of Vietnamese goods to the RoK.
The two sides agreed to positively seek and implement practical measures to expand bilateral trade more equally.
2.2.2. Both sides agreed on the need to accelerate negotiations forthe signing of the Vietnam-RoK Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) at a highand comprehensive level in 2014 while considering the developmentdifferences between the two countries.
2.2.3. TheVietnamese side highly appreciated the investment by businesses from theRoK, one of Vietnam’s major investors, who contribute to promotingVietnam’s industrialisation and export growth, and affirmed to makeevery effort to improve the investment and business environment andcreate conditions for RoK businesses to expand their business in Vietnam
Vietnam welcomed RoK firms to increase investmentin the building of infrastructure, high-technology, support andmanufacturing industries, and expressed hope that these investmentactivities will contribute to the common development of both nations.
The two sides agreed to promote the sharing ofpublic-private partnership expertise and support enterprises of bothsides to take part in civil investment projects.
2.2.4. The two sides spoke highly of the outcomes of their financialcooperation over the past time, including the active participation ofRoK financial companies, and welcomed the signing of a Memorandum ofUnderstanding on the establishment of a representative office of the RoKFinancial Supervisory Commission in Vietnam, hoping that the officewill play an important role in strengthening financial cooperationbetween the two countries in the future.
2.2.5. Bothsides highly appreciated their close cooperation in labour andemployment over the past time and agreed to speed up joint projects onbuilding policy, supporting infrastructure development and improvingmanagement capacity in labour-employment.
They heldthat the Employment Permit System deployed in 2004 has contributed toeconomic development of each country and agreed to make efforts toresume the programme which expired in 2012.
2.2.6.The two sides highly valued the cooperation between relevant agencies ofthe two countries in using nuclear power for peaceful purposes,welcomed the start of a pre-feasibility study for a nuclear power plantin Vietnam in June this year following the Overall Joint Proposed Plan(OJPP) for nuclear power development cooperation in Vietnam which wasagreed upon in 2011.
The two sides held that thesharing of RoK experience and nuclear power development technology willcontribute to developing Vietnam’s nuclear industry.
They both agreed to continue cooperation in order to develop nuclear power in Vietnam.
2.2.7. The two sides took note of the busy cooperation between the twocountries in technical industries such as researching and developingthe support industry, training technical human resources inmanufacturing and building technological incubators.
They shared the view that these activities have contributed to promoting the two countries’ common development.
2.2.8. Both sides welcomed the signing of a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU) between the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry andTrade and the RoK Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy on distributionand logistics, saying they believed the MOU will intensify cooperationbetween the two countries in supporting businesses and experiencesharing in the field.
2.2.9. The two sides agreed tocooperate and support RoK businesses to take part in energyinfrastructure projects, including the Dung Quat oil storage and athermal power plant in the south of Vietnam.
Thetwo sides also welcomed the signing of an MOU on accelerating theimplementation of the BOT Nghi Son 2 thermal power plant between theThanh Hoa provincial People’s Committee and the RoK Electric Power Corp.
2.2.10. Both sides were unanimous to intensify cooperation inthe production and distribution of food and agro-fisheries products,food safety and quarantine. They agreed to speed up the signing of an MOU on comprehensive agriculturalcooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment and the RoK’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and RuralAffairs.
2.2.11. The countries agreed to further theircooperation in space data. The RoK pledged to support Vietnam to buildand expand a comprehensive management system over land informationnationwide.
2.2.12. To minimise economic, social andenvironmental damage caused by impacts of the climate change, theyagreed to consider accelerating a project to prevent the desertificationin Vietnam’s central region and joint afforestation projects.
2.3. Development cooperation
2.3.1. Vietnam and the RoK shared their view that the developmentcooperation contributes to the growth of their relations, and agreed tofoster their cooperation to advance the development efficiency andexpand the development cooperation between the two countries.
They reached an agreement to exert every effort to realise the VietnamPartnership Document for the execution of the Busan PartnershipDocument for Effective Development Cooperation.
2.3.2.Both Vietnam and the RoK attached the importance of science andtechnology development to Vietnam’s sustainable growth. They welcomedthe signing of an agreement to establish the Vietnam – Korea Instituteof Science and Technology (V-KIST), funded by the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency (KOICA), and agreed to work closely to make it asuccessful model of development cooperation between the two countries.
2.3.3. They reached consensus on stepping up the “Vietnam HappinessProgramme”, which comprehensively develops underdeveloped areas in linewith the RoK’s New Villages Movement, contributing to the Vietnam’sdevelopment into a modern industrialised country by 2020.
2.3.4. Both sides spoke highly of their past cooperation in developingtransport infrastructure in Vietnam and were unanimous in bolsteringtheir ties in this field in the coming time, especially through thepublic-private partnership (PPP) model.
They applaudedthe signing of an MOU on cooperation in constructing Belt Road No.3 inHo Chi Minh City, the first PPP project financed by the RoK’s EconomicDevelopment Cooperation Fund (EDCF). They also agreed to facilitate theRoK’s businesses’ participation in this project.
2.4. Cultural and social cooperation
2.4.1. Vietnam and the RoK underlined the importance of boosting theunderstanding and closeness between the two peoples. They will continuestrengthening their multifaceted cooperation in such fields as languageteaching, culture, arts, and sports, while intensifying their ties inpeople-to-people diplomacy. The two countries also agreed to increasethe exchange of their young generations.
2.4.2. Theyreached an agreement in continuing their attention to protecting andensuring legitimate rights of each country’s citizens residing in theother side, providing necessary assistance to Vietnamese and Koreanmulticultural families, turning them into a bridge linking both peoples.
The two sides pledged to do their utmost to soonfinish the negotiations on a mutual legal assistance agreement in civilaffairs and trade. The RoK will consider measures to create favourableconditions for Vietnamese citizens to enter the country.
3. Expansion of cooperation in region and at international forums
3.1. The RoK voiced concern over the nuclear tests conducted by theDemocratic People's Republic of Korea ( DPRK ) and made itclear that the RoK does not accept the DPRK’s possession of nuclearunder any circumstance. Regarding this issue, the two sides agreed thatthe development of nuclear weapons is a threat to peace and stability ofthe Korea Peninsula, the East Asian region and the world at large. Bothsides called on the DPRK to implement all its obligations andinternational commitments including the United Nations (UN) SecurityCouncil resolutions and the Joint Statement of the Fourth Round ofthe Six - Party Talks held in Beijing on September 19,2005, and become a responsible member of the international community.The Vietnamese side applauded the policy known as the Trust -Building Process on the Korean Peninsula by President ParkGeun - hye that aims to establish sustainable peace on thepeninsula and back the Northeast Asian Peace and CooperationInitiative to further step up cooperation and establish trust in theAsia region.
3.2. The two sides agreed to work closelyat regional and international forums such as ASEAN+3, ASEAN RegionalForum (ARF), the East Asia Summit (EAS), the Asia-Pacific EconomicCooperation (APEC), the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the UN.
3.3. Both sides took note of the development of ASEAN-RoK ties overthe recent past, and held that the upgrade of the ties in 2010 helpedfurther boost their effective cooperation. Vietnam and RoK agreed tocoordinate closely to organise the 2014 ASEAN-RoK Special Summit hostedby the RoK to mark the 25th anniversary of the dialogue relationsbetween ASEAN and the RoK.
3.4. The two sides heldthat it is vital to foster the Mekong-RoK cooperation towards theestablishment of an ASEAN community. They expressed their hope that the 2nd Mekong-RoK Business Forum scheduled for 2014 in Vietnam will helpfurther strengthen civil cooperation between the two regions. Both sidesalso agreed to continue cooperation to establish the ASEAN community,which helps narrow the development gap between them and enhance theirlinkage.
3.5. Vietnam and the RoK stressed theimportance of maintaining peace, stability, maritime security and safetyat sea, and held that all disputes at sea must be settled by peacefulmeasures and in line with international law, including the 1982 UNConvention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The two sides asserted that President Park’s Vietnam visit plays acrucial role in taking their friendship cooperation to a new phase ofdevelopment. President Park expressed deep gratitude to the Vietnameseside’s hospitability and invited President Sang to visit the RoK at aconvenient time. President Sang accepted the invitation withpleasure.”-VNA
