President Moon: "Welcome Vietnam's Adoption of Korean as the First Foreign Language"

President Moon talks with Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam... "Korea is Vietnam's No.1 investor, a special relationship"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] On the afternoon of the 15th, President Moon Jae-in, during a phone call with Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, said, "I welcome Vietnam's adoption of Korean as the first foreign language, and I hope to strengthen cooperation in education and culture so that interest in Vietnamese culture can spread in Korea as well."

President Moon emphasized, "Korea is Vietnam's top investor, and Vietnam is Korea's fourth largest trading partner." He added, "More than 9,000 Korean companies have entered Vietnam, and about 200,000 citizens from both countries reside there, making the relationship between the two countries special."

General Secretary Trong said, "Korea is a central country in ASEAN cooperation, and Vietnam supports Korea's New Southern Policy. If Vietnam's development plans and Korea's New Southern Policy are combined, the bilateral relationship can deepen and develop further."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Park Kyung-mi, spokesperson for the Blue House, said on the same day, "This call was the first at the head-of-state level since the launch of Vietnam's new leadership, and President Moon congratulated General Secretary Trong on his reappointment." General Secretary Trong conveyed, "Congratulations on Korea's elevation to a developed country status by UNCTAD."

President Moon and General Secretary Trong evaluated that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Vietnam in 1992, cooperation has deepened in various fields such as politics, economy, and human exchanges. Marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, they agreed to actively cooperate so that the bilateral relationship can advance one step further from the current 'strategic cooperative partnership.'

President Moon said, "Despite the COVID-19 crisis, last year's trade volume between the two countries maintained pre-pandemic levels," and added, "I hope we can closely cooperate to achieve the trade volume goal of 100 billion USD by 2023." General Secretary Trong said, "To achieve the 100 billion USD trade volume, let's expand investment scale and strengthen cooperation with the Korean government in the context of the global supply chain."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

General Secretary Trong proposed, "Let's promote cooperation between political parties of Korea and Vietnam, cooperation between parliaments, and cooperation among next-generation leaders," to which President Moon responded, "I warmly welcome this proposal."

President Moon expressed gratitude, saying, "Vietnam provided the venue for the second North Korea-US summit and supported our government's efforts for peace on the Korean Peninsula at key moments." He also requested, "I ask Vietnam, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, to play a role in the prompt resumption of dialogue with North Korea."

General Secretary Trong stated, "Vietnam supports denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and peaceful consultative dialogue."

President Moon also mentioned the situation in Myanmar. He said, "I hope the two countries will communicate closely for Myanmar's democracy." General Secretary Trong replied, "As a responsible member of ASEAN, let's continue to cooperate for the restoration of peace and stability in Myanmar."

Meanwhile, Spokesperson Park conveyed, "President Moon expressed gratitude for Vietnam's cooperation in alleviating difficulties faced by our businesspeople during the COVID-19 situation and requested Vietnam to pay special attention to the safety and protection of our citizens and invested companies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.