Following his summit with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, President Moon Jae-in held a series of separate meetings with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong, Chairwoman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. 

In his meetings with the Vietnamese top leaders, President Moon highlighted the importance of mutual prosperity with Vietnam, a key partner in Korea’s New Southern Policy. He also discussed with them how to promote friendly ties between the two countries.

In a meeting with General Secretary Trong, the country’s most senior leader having a far-reaching influence on state affairs, President Moon explained that the Korean Government considered itself a partner with ASEAN in pursuit of common prosperity and thus was stepping up cooperation with ASEAN member states. He went on to say that his Administration was working hard to achieve the goal of people-centered, mutually-beneficial cooperation through which all the people thrive together. He continued to note that Vietnam was Korea’s No. 1 partner for cooperation in ASEAN on all fronts, including trade and investment, and the key partner for collaboration in its New Southern Policy, proposing to take bilateral cooperation to new heights in the future.

Noting that President Moon was the first state guest to Vietnam in 2018, General Secretary Trong said he was convinced that President Moon`s visit would bring much luck to his country. 

Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, the first female Chairwoman of the National Assembly in Vietnam, said that President Moon`s visit would serve as an opportunity to upgrade bilateral relations by a notch and congratulated the President on the success of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. 

In reply, President Moon said that bilateral trade has dramatically increased since the two countries established a strategic cooperative partnership in 2009. The President continued to note that Korea has emerged as the second largest trading partner of Vietnam and that Vietnam, a key country in the ASEAN region, has become the fourth largest importer of Korean-made goods. As part of efforts to further enhance bilateral ties, President Moon proposed to review how to upgrade them to a comprehensive strategic partnership. 

Prime Minister Phuc greeted President Moon by expressing the hope that the inter-Korean summit and a summit between the United States and North Korea would be successfully held and, thus, contribute to peace and stability not just on the Korean Peninsula but also in the world. The Prime Minister also said the two countries had many similarities in history and culture. 

President Moon told Prime Minister Phuc that Vietnam was Korea’s biggest partner among ASEAN members, especially in the areas of trade, investment, development cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, as well as a key partner in the Korean Government’s New Southern Policy. The President went on to say that Korea was the second biggest trading partner for Vietnam while Vietnam was the fourth largest trading partner for Korea, stressing that bilateral trade grew 128-fold since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992 and 40 percent during last year alone. Noting that the number of visitors between the two nations increased more than 50 percent last year, making Vietnam the biggest destination for Koreans among ASEAN members, President Moon said that he would make endeavors to further promote bilateral cooperation.