On the second day of his state visit to Vietnam, President Moon Jae-in and First Lady Kim Jung-sook attended an official welcoming ceremony held on the front grounds of the Presidential Palace in Hanoi. Vietnam is the first destination of his overseas trips scheduled for this year, and he is Vietnam’s first state guest this year.

Over the past 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, Korea and Vietnam have grown into key partners in terms of politics, the economy and people-to-people exchanges. Vietnam is now Korea’s fourth largest trading partner, and Korea has emerged as the largest investor in Vietnam and the country’s second biggest trading partner. 

Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang and First Lady Nguyen Thi Hien warmly welcomed President Moon and First Lady Kim, and the two heads of state introduced each other to their presidential aides. At the entrance of the Presidential Palace, children clad in white holding the national flags of the two nations welcomed the Korean presidential couple. The honor guard of the Vietnamese Army, Navy and Air Force together with the military band was lined up by the red carpet, playing the national anthems of the two countries.

After the official welcoming ceremony, the two Presidents walked into the Presidential Palace and held a summit. They discussed comprehensive measures to step up bilateral relations, including ways to achieve the goal of US$100 billion in trade by 2020, the creation of the institutional groundwork for increasing investment such as the signing of a social security agreement, the promotion of infrastructure collaboration and the enhancement of development cooperation as well as policy coordination for the settlement of peace on the Korean Peninsula.

President Moon said Vietnam was a special country to Korea as well as a key partner in pushing for the New Southern Policy, one of his Administration`s overriding policies. Explaining that yesterday he had watched the practice of Vietnam`s under-23 national football team, which is led by Korean head coach Park Hang-seo, the President said he could personally feel the "Korea-Vietnam Magic" that anything can be achieved if the two countries join forces. In particular, President Moon proposed further upgrading bilateral relations to a comprehensive, strategic partnership in commemoration of next year`s 10th anniversary of the establishment of the strategic cooperative partnership between the two nations. 

Extending his congratulations on the success of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, President Quang said he looked forward to the further advancement of bilateral ties on the basis of the New Southern Policy. The two Presidents agreed to make joint efforts to achieve the goal of increasing bilateral trade to US$100 billion by 2020, further promote mutually beneficial cooperation in the manufacturing industry, including the materials and parts industry and automobile industry. President Moon also agreed to increase Korea`s contributions to expanding infrastructure such as roads and airports in Vietnam. 

Among other things, President Moon said that support for bicultural families in Korea would be strengthened and that development cooperation with Vietnam, Korea`s biggest partner in this area, would be further enhanced. The President continued that the Korean Government would make efforts to lay the foundation for common prosperity, including through the Vietnam-Korea Institute of Science and Technology (VKIST), the groundbreaking ceremony for which was held yesterday.

Expressing his regrets over the ill-fated history that was “lingering in our heart,” President Moon said he hoped that the two countries would pool their strengths to promote forward-looking cooperation. 

In response, President Quang said he gave high marks to the Korean Government’s sincerity about the past history related to the Vietnam War. Then, he expressed the hope that the Korean Government would make additional efforts to heal the past suffering, solidify bilateral friendship and strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation. 

President Moon extended an invitation to President Quang to visit Korea by saying he hoped that President Quang would visit Korea at his convenience and continued that the Vietnamese President would be honored with the highest respect during his visit. President Quang said he would visit Korea at the earliest date possible. 

President Quang noted that the Korean Government’s support in various areas had made substantial contributions to Vietnam’s economic development and the promotion of its people’s welfare. 

After the summit, the two leaders attended the signing ceremony of six MOUs between institutions of the two countries to promote bilateral cooperation in various areas. At a joint press conference that followed, they announced the Korea-Vietnam joint declaration for forward-looking development over the next 25 years.