The President of the Republic of Korea, Lee Myung-bak, will pay an official visit to Vietnam from October 20-22 at the invitation of President Nguyen Minh Triet.

During a visit to the RoK in 2001, Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong and his RoK counterpart Kim Dae-jung agreed to lift the bilateral relationship to the “comprehensive partnership in the 21^st century”.

While visiting the Northeast Asian nation in May 2009, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and RoK leaders agreed to raise bilateral relationship to the “strategic cooperative partnership”.

The RoK has supported Vietnam’s Renewal and international integration process and it has worked closely with Vietnam in international organisations and forums such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the United Nations Security Council.

Currently, the RoK is the second biggest foreign investor in Vietnam, pouring more than US$20 billion into the country by the end of July 2009. It is Vietnam’s fourth biggest trading partner with two-way trade reaching nearly US$10 billion last year.

Vietnam remains on the RoK’s priority list of ODA recipients. In 2006, the RoK government decided to increase its development aid to Vietnam to US$100 million a year and its non-refundable aid to US$9.5 million a year for the 2006-2009 period.

The two countries have established an inter-government committee for economic, scientific and technological cooperation and have signed a number of important agreements on investment, trade, aid provision, culture, customs, transport, tourism and judiciary.

The RoK is Vietnam’s third biggest labour export market, with more than 55,000 Vietnamese nationals working in this country at present. On May 25, 2004, the two countries signed a new agreement on sending Vietnamese guest workers to the RoK in line with its employment permit system (EPS).

Both countries have frequently conducted the exchange of cultural delegations and cultural events including art performances, exhibitions and film screening. In 2006, a RoK cultural centre was established in Hanoi to introduce its cultural identities and promote mutual understanding.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training has selected the RoK as a strategic partner in education and training cooperation. The RoK government, universities and organisations have funded many projects to upgrade educational infrastructure in Vietnam. Currently, about 5,000 Vietnamese students are studying in the RoK.

VietNamNet/VOV