President Lee Jae-myung, on a state visit to Vietnam, on the 23rd local time emphasized bilateral cooperation, saying, "Vietnam's future will soon become Korea's future."
At a Korea-Vietnam business forum held at a hotel in downtown Hanoi, Lee said, "When diplomatic ties were established in 1992, trade between the two countries was only $6.5 billion, but it is now on the verge of reaching $100 billion. Korea and Vietnam have become one of the top three trading partners for each other."
Lee said, "Uncertainty in the global economy, including supply chains, is rising due to geopolitical risks such as the Middle East war. Global competition over cutting-edge science and technology, including artificial intelligence (AI; Artificial Intelligence), is also growing fiercer by the day," and encouraged, "But paradoxically, in times of such crisis, the solid friendship and cooperation our two countries have built will shine even more."
Lee presented three key directions for Korea-Vietnam cooperation: ▲ future high-tech industries ▲ supply chains and energy ▲ science and technology. He said, "We must sow the seeds of future high-tech industries together. Cooperation between our two countries is already expanding beyond the traditional manufacturing institutional sector into future fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and digital."
He added, "We must lay the groundwork for unwavering cooperation in supply chains and energy. Securing resources and energy in a stable manner is the only means that provides collateral for the sustainability of economic growth," and said, "If the two countries build robust safeguards in key strategic resource fields such as crude oil and rare earths, we will be able to jointly establish a solid supply chain ecosystem that does not waver in any economic swell."
He also said, "Given the boundless potential for bilateral cooperation across the energy sector, including nuclear power, renewable energy, and long-distance power grid construction, I believe we can broaden the horizon of mutual cooperation going forward."
In particular, Lee said, "We must prepare for the future together through cooperation in science and technology," and noted, "In this era of technological hegemony, where cutting-edge science and technology determine national power, our two countries' cooperation in science and technology must now make another leap forward."
Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung responded, "Cooperation between Korea and Vietnam should not stop at simple expansion but must shift to qualitative growth," adding, "We must move toward a mutually beneficial partnership that builds the future ecosystem together." Hung proposed ▲ joint establishment of a high-tech ecosystem ▲ flexible and solid supply chains ▲ cooperation in technological innovation.
The forum was attended by Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, and LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, along with 109 companies in Korea's economic delegation and about 500 participants from both governments, public institutions, and corporations. In fields such as advanced technology, consumer goods, infrastructure, energy, and finance, the two countries' corporations signed more than 70 memorandums of understanding (MOU; Memorandum Of Understanding).