The leader of Republic of Korea (RoK) has pledged to give official development assistance (ODA) priority to infrastructure, human resources and green growth projects in Vietnam.

>> RoK funds $6.5-mn green urban planning project in Vietnam

RoK President Park Geun-hye made the statement during talks on Wednesday with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who is in the RoK for a visit and to attend the commemorative summit marking 25 years of the ASEAN-RoK dialogue relations, according to the Vietnam News Agency. 

The RoK leader also said her country considers Vietnam as the top partner in its policy of official development assistance (ODA). Both host and guest agreed that the political trust between the two countries over recent times has created an important foundation to expanding and strengthening bilateral ties, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the Asia-Pacific region.

They agreed to extend coordination between ministries and agencies while effectively implementing dialogue mechanisms in the fields of diplomacy, national defense and security. The two sides were delighted at the conclusion of negotiations on the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), considering it an important event in bilateral ties. The FTA will not only help increase two-way trade to US$70 billion by 2020 but also further promote the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, both leaders agreed. PM Dung suggested that the RoK government encourage both big corporations and small- and medium-sized enterprises to invest in Vietnam in various fields, including hi-tech, support industry, electronics, energy, infrastructure development in industrial parks, and manufacturing and processing industry. He and his host shared the same view that the maintenance of peace, stability, security, maritime and aviation safety in the East Sea is the common interest of countries in and outside the region. They voiced support of ASEAN and China in seriously abiding by the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, towards the early signing of the Code of Conduct in the East Sea. After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of a document on concluding the negotiations on the FTA between Vietnam and the RoK.

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