VN-RoK ties to go from ‘strength to strength': PM

Viet Nam attached great importance to its ties with the Republic of Korea and wished to step up collaboration in all fields including the economy, trade, investment, tourism, politics and culture, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said yesterday.

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Hosting a reception for the former President of the Republic of Korea (RoK), Lee Myung-Bak, in Ha Noi, Dung said he was happy with the strong, comprehensive development of bilateral relations, particularly since the two countries elevated their ties to trategic partnership in 2009.


Dung said he was also confident that with efforts from both sides, a bilateral free trade agreement would be signed by the end of this year.

From then on, bilateral economic, trade and investment ties and co-operation between ministries, sectors and businesses of both countries would go "from strength to strength," he said.

He expressed his hope that the former Korean President would continue to contribute to the development of Viet Nam-RoK relations.

Lee Myung-Bak stated that the RoK business community was particularly interested in Viet Nam, as could be seen in the large number of leading hi-tech companies in his entourage.

He said the two countries did not need to worry about trade imbalances since the presence of an increasing number of Korean investors in Viet Nam would result in rising demand for imported materials and equipment from the RoK.

He also expressed his hope that the Vietnamese Government would continue to support RoK investors and businesses.