The ceremony was held at the JW Marriott Hotel in Hanoi, hosted by Ambassador Choi Youngsam, a seasoned diplomat in the East Asia region.
In his speech, Ambassador Choi Youngsam reviewed important milestones in the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Vietnam since December 22, 1992. Over the past 30 years, the two countries have made remarkable progress in many fields, enhancing their relationship from a traditional friendship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Their cooperation in many fields has contributed to promoting bilateral cooperative ties and bringing practical benefits to the people of the two countries. Some salient areas of cooperation include:
Economic development cooperation: The strong development of economic and trade relations between the two countries has helped to boost two-way trade to 78.7 billion USD in 2022, up 175 times over the past 30 years. Korea is the second largest foreign direct investor (FDI) in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of 77.4 billion USD. Manufacturing is a critical sector in Korea's investment in Vietnam, providing jobs for about 800,000 Vietnamese workers in 9,000 Korean-invested enterprises in Vietnam.
Cultural exchange: The boosting of cultural, artistic, sports, tourism, education, science, and technology exchanges between the two countries has contributed to promoting understanding and solidarity between the peoples of the two countries. Currently, there are about 270,000 Vietnamese living in Korea and about 170,000 Koreans living in Vietnam.
Education and training cooperation: The surge in the number of exchange students and students between the two countries has contributed to improving the quality of human resources and promoting educational cooperation between the two countries. As of 2022, Vietnam has about 200,000 Vietnamese students studying in Korea, and about 10,000 Korean students are attending universities and colleges in Vietnam.
In the coming time, the two countries will increase the scale of cooperation in the field of manufacturing, while deepening cooperation in the field of leading industries, digital transformation, and expanding cooperation to areas such as: Climate change, green transformation, etc. ... to help Vietnam achieve the goal of becoming a developed country by 2045.
After the speech of Ambassador Choi Youngsam, the delegates attending the ceremony were invited to a banquet hosted by the Ambassador and his wife.
