By Lee Jihae

President Moon Jae-in on Nov. 27 hosted a bilateral summit at Cheong Wa Dae with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc after returning to Seoul and attending the inaugural Mekong-ROK (Republic of Korea) Summit in Busan.

The two leaders discussed enhancing practical cooperation, promotion of friendship, and regional and international cooperation between both nations.

President Moon said, "This year marks the tenth anniversary of our strategic cooperative partnership," adding, "I look forward to even greater synergy being created between Vietnam's goal of emerging as an industrialized country and Korea's New Southern Policy."

"I hope the memorandums of understanding signed today greatly contribute to reaching the bilateral goal of USD 100 billion in trade volume by 2020," he added.

The Vietnamese leader said, "I hope Korean corporations continue to invest in various sectors of Vietnam such as high technology, materials and components, automobiles and finance."

"(The Vietnamese government) will actively aid Korean corporations even with their difficulties."
 
Phuc said the success of the just-completed ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-ROK (Republic of Korea) Summit and the Mekong-ROK Summit reflects the amity between ASEAN member states and Korea, calling Korea one of Vietnam's most important partners.

Phuc said Korea is the biggest investor in Vietnam with USD 64 billion, and this accounts for 40% of trade between ASEAN and Korea. He added that he is glad that Korea is also Vietnam's fourth-largest trading partner at USD 62 billion.

Both leaders also attended the signing of four memorandums of understanding, including one on the prevention of double taxation.

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