Yoon welcomes Vietnam's president in first state visit

President Yoon Suk-yeol, right, walks with Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc at a welcome ceremony at Yongsan presidential office in Seoul on Monday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Hosting his first foreign state visit, President Yoon Suk-yeol welcomed Vietnam's president to Seoul on Monday, emphasizing the two countries' growing ties.

“Vietnam is our key partner in Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy and Korea-Asean Solidarity Initiative,” Yoon said in a joint press briefing at the presidential office with Nguyen Xuan Phuc, citing his administration’s two key policies toward the Asean region.

Phuc is on a state visit, the first since Yoon was inaugurated last May, the highest level of a visit by a foreign leader. State visits usually include more pomp and ceremony including an official welcoming ceremony with an honor guard and a state dinner.

Phuc attended an official welcome ceremony at the presidential office on Monday, where the two leaders began their summit meeting with a few aides. The meeting was then expanded into a state dinner at the Blue House.

The summit followed the two nations’ decision to elevate their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in October on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of establishing relations. Vietnam holds this level of foreign relations with only three other countries: Russia, China and India.

In highlighting the trade between Korea and Vietnam, Yoon heralded “a new era” in relations that could introduce growing partnerships in supply chain and defense industry. The two countries' trade volume jumped some 160 times since 1992 to surpass $80.7 billion in 2021.

“The Korean government is committed to contributing to maritime security in the region, we will actively support the strengthening of Vietnam's maritime law enforcement capabilities and expand defense industry cooperation with Vietnam,” he said.

Yoon also spoke of tapping into the potential market for rare earth minerals in Vietnam, a key resource for high-tech devices such as smartphones and electronic displays. A total of 60 percent of Samsung phones worldwide are produced in Vietnam, according to the presidential office in Seoul.

“We share the view that there is great potential for cooperation between the two countries on the development of rare earths abundant in Vietnam and decided to seek concrete ways to cooperate on the sector,” he said.

China is known to have the highest reserves of rare earths and is the current top producer. Vietnam’s reserves of rare earths are said to come in second, but have yet to be developed.

Phuc visited Seoul with his deputy prime minister, foreign minister, planning and investment minister, industry and trade minister, culture minister and health minister.

The delegation signed nine agreements with Korea in the digital, energy and bio-technology sectors, as well as on rare earths, according to the presidential office.

They also agreed to continue to grow their trade, with a goal of trade volume surpassing $100 billion in 2023 and $150 billion by 2030.

The delegation was scheduled to attend an investment forum hosted jointly by Vietnam and Korea in Seoul on Tuesday.

Korea is the largest source of foreign direct investment in Vietnam, followed by Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The largest Korean investors are Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Hyosung, Lotte and Posco.

The two leaders also agreed to expand people-to-people exchanges, which grew from 2,000 in 1992 to 4.8 million in 2019, according to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul. The Vietnamese community in Korea is one of the largest foreign communities in the country, second only to Chinese.

“Both governments will not spare efforts to promote the rights and interests of the people of both countries,” Yoon said. “The Korean government will also support Korean language education in Vietnam as it was designated as one of the official foreign languages taught in Vietnam.”

Last year, Vietnam designated Korean as an official foreign language to be taught in its schools alongside English, Chinese, Japanese, French and Russian.

Yoon also asked Phuc for his support on Busan’s bid to host the World Expo in 2030, according to the presidential office.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]