Vietnam has agreed with South Korea on boosting two-way trade to US$150 billion by 2030, while also expecting to get more ODA loans from Japan in the coming time.

On Tuesday afternoon, Vietnamese Party General Secretary and State President To Lam held telephone discussions with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and then conducted online talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Both conversations centered on enhancing the comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and the two countries, according to the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations.

Target of $150 billion trade with South Korea

During Lam’s phone talks with President Yoon on Tuesday, the two leaders reviewed the successful cooperation between their countries and discussed strategies to advance their comprehensive strategic partnership across various sectors, including trade, investment, defense, and security.

Lam praised the rapid growth of Vietnam-South Korea relations over the past 32 years, particularly since the two nations elevated their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022.

Both leaders agreed to work together to boost bilateral trade to $150 billion by 2030. South Korea was Vietnam’s third-largest trading partner in 2023, following China and the U.S., with bilateral trade reaching approximately $79.43 billion, according to the Korea International Trade Association.

In January-June, the bilateral trade was estimated to hit $38.8 billion, an increase of 9.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Lam told Yoon that the Party and state of Vietnam always attach importance to the friendly and cooperative relationship with the Northeast Asian country.

The South Korean leader expressed his belief that the Party and state of Vietnam, headed by General Secretary and State President To Lam, will continue to gain great achievements, further enhancing the country’s international position and prestige.

Yoon affirmed that Vietnam plays a significant role in South Korea’s implementation of its policies related to the region.

The two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in defense and security, while promoting economic, trade, and investment cooperation in a substantive, effective, balanced, and sustainable manner.

They consented to further enhance mutual understanding and political trust through maintaining high-level contacts and exchanges and through other channels between the two countries.

Lam welcomed South Korean enterprises to participate in key investment projects in Vietnam, while Yoon promised that his country would increase imports of agricultural products from the Southeast Asian country.

The two leaders agreed to beef up cooperation in labor, culture, tourism, education, and people-to-people exchange.

They pledged to continue supporting their citizens in living, studying, and working in the other country.

Agreeing with Yoon on strengthening cooperation in regional and international issues, Lam affirmed that Vietnam is always interested in and ready to actively contribute to the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.

Regarding the East Vietnam Sea issue, the two sides agreed on the necessity of maintaining peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the waters in line with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

President Yoon invited General Secretary and President Lam to soon pay a visit to South Korea and the latter happily accepted the invitation.

More Japanese ODA loans expected

Later on the same afternoon, the Vietnamese leader had online talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, concentrating on bringing into play their comprehensive strategic partnership that was established last year. 

PM Kishida emphasized that Vietnam is an important partner of Japan in the region and the world.

The two leaders were pleased with the strong, rapid, and comprehensive development of bilateral relations over the past many years.

Kishida and Lam pledged to promote economic cooperation as the bilateral relationship’s main pillar, while strengthening the connectivity between the two economies.

Japan will keep contributing to Vietnam's development by providing further ODA loans for the Southeast Asian country, and expanding their bilateral cooperation in digital transformation, green transformation, and high-quality human resource training, Kishida said.

Currently, Japan is the world’s largest provider of ODA loans to Vietnam, with nearly $30 billion worth of lending.

In fiscal year 2023 alone, Japanese ODA loans to Vietnam exceeded 100 billion yen (nearly $689 million), marking the first time this threshold had been surpassed since 2017, according to the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Lam reaffirmed that Japan is an important partner of Vietnam in its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation, and development.

The two sides agreed to continue enhancing political trust and mutual understanding through maintaining high-level exchanges in many flexible forms, promoting the effectiveness of bilateral dialogue and cooperation mechanisms.

Lam said that Vietnam would continue to improve the investment environment, enhance the quality of infrastructure, and facilitate foreign enterprises, including Japanese enterprises, investing and doing business in Vietnam.

He and Kishida agreed to enhance defense and security cooperation, effectively implement existing agreements, and strengthen human resource connectivity, people-to-people exchanges, and local-level collaboration between the two nations.

The Vietnamese leader requested the Japanese government to continue facilitating favorable conditions for Vietnamese communities living, studying, and working in Japan.

They discussed international and regional issues of mutual interest, including the East Vietnam Sea, and pledged to work together to maintain a peaceful, secure, and stable regional environment.

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