President Lee Jae-myung welcomed the visiting General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and his wife on the 11th. The state welcome ceremony was held with formality, featuring a red carpet, a military honor guard, and 21 gun salutes. This visit by the General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party is the first visit since 2014, marking 11 years.
The welcome ceremony began at 9:34 a.m. with performances by a military band and honor guard. As the central door of the first-floor main hall at the Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul, opened, President Lee, dressed in a black suit with a gold tie, and First Lady Kim, in a light pink hanbok, came out to prepare for the reception.
Soon after, an official vehicle adorned with the Vietnamese flag arrived in front of the entrance, and President Lee descended the stairs to greet General Secretary Tong Lung, who was dressed in a dark navy suit with a red tie, and Ms. Ngo Phuong Ly, wearing deep gold traditional attire, with handshakes and welcome remarks.
After exchanging brief pleasantries, the two leaders saluted in time with the command of the honor guard and listened attentively to the national anthems. Following the Vietnamese anthem, the Korean national anthem resonated, accompanied by 21 gun salutes in the sky.
The two leaders walked along the red carpet under the guidance of the honor guard commander, inspecting the honor guard. After the inspection, President Lee gently wrapped his arm around General Secretary Tong Lung's and escorted him inside the main hall.
The welcome ceremony included 14 representatives from the Vietnamese side, including Nguyen Duy Ngoc, Chairperson of the Party Central Inspection Committee, and Phan Van Giang, Minister of National Defense, while 14 representatives from the Korean side were present, including Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hun and Minister of Foreign Affairs Jo Hyun.
This visit marks the first state reception after 67 days since the inauguration of the Lee Jae-myung government. Vietnam is a key partner for Korea within the ASEAN and ranks as one of the top three trading countries, with a trade volume of $86.7 billion projected for 2024, involving approximately 10,000 corporations from Korea.
The two leaders are scheduled to enter into a summit right after the welcome ceremony to discuss ways to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries.
In particular, during the meeting, the leaders are expected to adopt a joint declaration detailing plans to achieve a trade volume of $150 billion by 2030, enhance the Korea-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and investment expansion, collaborate on large-scale infrastructure projects such as new cities, high-speed rail, and nuclear power plants, strengthen supply chains in AI, semiconductors, renewable energy, and critical minerals, and expand cooperation in defense, arms, and maritime security. Additionally, the two countries plan to exchange over 10 memorandums of understanding (MOU) related to scientific technology, renewable energy, manpower dispatch, finance, capital markets, education, fisheries, training for nuclear power personnel, and local government exchanges.