Vietnam’s State President Luong Cuong met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on the sidelines of the 2024 APEC Economic Leaders' Week in Lima, Peru on Saturday. 

During their meeting, State President Cuong and South Korean President Yoon expressed their delight at the development of the Vietnam-South Korea relations, which are at their best, especially following the elevation of the two countries’ bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

President Yoon congratulated Cuong on his election as state president of Vietnam, affirming that Vietnam is a key partner of South Korea in deploying the ASEAN-South Korea Solidarity Initiative and Seoul’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.

Regarding cooperation plans in the coming time, the two leaders agreed to continue promoting economic cooperation to achieve bilateral trade of US$100 billion in the near future and $150 billion by 2030.

South Korea will prioritize support for Vietnam in some key areas, including training high-quality human resources, developing R&D centers, transferring technology, and helping Vietnamese enterprises integrate more deeply into global supply chains led by South Korean groups.

The Eastern Asian country will provide more official development assistance (ODA) loans for Vietnam with special incentives so that the latter can invest in strategic traffic infrastructure, climate change response, green transition, and energy transformation, Yoon added.

The two sides reached a consensus on cooperating closely in international and regional issues and supporting each other’s candidacy at multilateral cooperation mechanisms and international organizations.

On the East Vietnam Sea issue, both sides stressed the need to uphold peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and aviation.

They emphasized resolving disputes through peaceful means, adhering to international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

State President Cuong extended an invitation to President Yoon to visit Vietnam and expressed gratitude for the latter's invitation to visit South Korea at a suitable time.

The two leaders agreed to coordinate these visits through diplomatic channels.

On the same day, State President Cuong also met with Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba.

The Vietnamese president affirmed that Vietnam considers Japan as a reliable, important, and long-term partner, supporting Japan's active contributions to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

Cuong proposed the two sides strengthen political trust, increase annual high-level meetings, and promote substantive defense and security cooperation through the effective implementation of signed cooperation agreements.

The Vietnamese state leader also suggested the two nations enhance economic cooperation -- the main pillar of their bilateral relationship -- and continue to expand the comprehensive cooperation to new sectors, such as digital transformation and green transition.

He requested Japan’s support in training a highly skilled workforce, including university graduates and advanced-degree holders, for Vietnam's semiconductor industry by 2030.

President Cuong also proposed strengthening cooperation in human resource development, particularly for strategic-level managers, while promoting cultural and people-to-people exchanges, partnerships between localities, and tourism collaboration.

Ishiba said Vietnam is always a priority partner of Japan in the region.

The Japanese prime minister welcomed President Cuong's proposals and affirmed that the Japanese government would continue implementing policies to encourage and support foreign communities in Japan, including Vietnamese nationals, to live, study, and work in the country.

Ishiba also praised the Vietnamese student community in Japan for their contributions.

The two leaders agreed to enhance coordination on regional and international issues of mutual interest, actively contributing to peace, stability, and development in the region and beyond.

They were committed to strengthening cooperation at multilateral forums and within international and regional organizations such as the United Nations, APEC, ASEAN, and the Mekong framework.

The APEC Economic Leaders’ Week took place in Peru’s capital Lima from November 9 to 16.

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