Vietnam reaffirmed its commitment to cooperation with South Korea, celebrating its 80th National Day and the 33rd anniversary of Vietnam-Korea diplomatic ties on Friday.
Vietnam’s Independence Day marks the 1945 declaration of independence from France by President Ho Chi Minh at Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi. The country was a French colony from 1877 until 1945.
Drawing on the ideologies of Vietnam’s first president Ho Chi Minh and Korean independence activist Kim Gu, Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea Vu Ho said in his remarks that Vietnam and South Korea share a common aspiration for independence, freedom, and a vision of building a nation that is not just powerful or wealthy but truly beautiful.
Vietnam has navigated numerous challenges over the past 80 years and is on track to become a developed, high-income country by 2045, said Ho.
“In that journey, the Vietnam-Korea relationship is one of the most special partnerships,” Ho underscored.
Korea is Vietnam’s top investor, third-largest trade partner, and leading ODA contributor, with strong people-to-people ties, as hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and Koreans live and work in each other’s countries, according to Ho.
The ambassador also underscored the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership forged in 2022, describing it as the cornerstone for a shared centennial vision — Vietnam’s 100 years in 2045 and Korea’s in 2048 — built on companionship and common progress.
Vietnam and South Korea aim to boost trade to $150 billion by 2030 and collaborate on major infrastructure projects. The Southeast Asian country is South Korea’s third-largest trading partner, hosting around 10,000 Korean companies, with bilateral trade reaching $86.7 billion in 2024.
Meanwhile, the ambassador expressed his gratitude toward the Vietnamese community in Korea for preserving cultural identity, patriotic traditions and boosting Vietnam-Korea ties.
“The Koreans have a saying: ‘When you are on the same boat, you must row together.’ We, Vietnamese, also say, ‘With one heart, we can drain the East Sea.’ That is the spirit of companionship that our two nations share.”
sanjaykumar@heraldcorp.com
