President Moon Jae-in met with Chairwoman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan at Cheong Wa Dae from 5:30 this afternoon during her official visit to Korea. They exchanged ideas about how to advance bilateral friendship and cooperation into more forward-looking relations.
President Moon noted that the Governments of both nations have faithfully carried out follow-up measures to his state visit to Vietnam this March through vibrant exchanges of senior officials. He went on to say that such endeavors were enabling the strategic, cooperative partnership between the two countries to evolve into a future-oriented relationship.
In particular, President Moon said that the number of people traveling back and forth between the two countries this year had already reached 3.3 million by the end of November, surpassing the number recorded for all of 2017. He added that Korean businesses had invested more in Vietnam in the first half of this year than they had in all of last year, making the country the third largest recipient of Korean investment. Noting exchanges and cooperative relations between the two nations were developing at an exceptional rate, President Moon asked for the Chairwoman's continued interest and support to maintain the momentum of progress.
President Moon spoke highly of Vietnam’s active cooperation, as a key partner in his Administration's New Southern Policy, in its efforts to create a people-centered community of peace and prosperity. The President added that his Administration would continue to closely consult with Vietnam to ensure substantive progress in Korea-ASEAN relations through the 2019 ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit. In addition, President Moon noted Vietnam's active support for his Administration's endeavors for denuclearization and the settlement of peace on the Korean Peninsula and requested continued support going forward.
Chairwoman Ngan expressed her gratitude to President Moon for the warm welcome and gave high marks to the fact that Korea and Vietnam have been advancing their cooperative relations in various areas, including politics, the economy and people-to-people exchanges. The Chairwoman continued to say that the Vietnamese National Assembly would make active efforts to further develop bilateral relations.
Chairwoman Ngan said that Vietnam welcomed and strongly supported the Korean Government’s New Southern Policy and that as a key partner of the Policy, it would faithfully play the role of a bridge to further develop Korea-ASEAN relations. Speaking highly of President Moon’s leadership in spreading peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, the Chairwoman said that Vietnam would continue to actively support the Korean Government’s efforts for denuclearization and a peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula.