With nearly 30 activities held over three days, State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s State visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) has now wrapped up, with a total of 24 agreements reached between the two Asian countries.

The most outstanding result from the visit was the elevation of ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and a Joint Statement being issued by President Phuc and President Yoon Suk Yeo, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son told local media on December 7.

“The upgrade was a historic milestone heralding a new stage of stronger and more substantive development in bilateral relations, thereby creating a favorable environment for promoting cooperation in different spheres, especially the economy,” he said.

During the visit, President Phuc joined representatives from over 500 enterprises at the Vietnam - RoK Business Forum and met with leaders from some 30 major RoK enterprises, banks, financial organizations, and investors.

Minister Son added that in the presence of the two Presidents, ministries, sectors, localities, and businesses from the two sides inked 24 agreements, of which 16 cooperation agreements, commitments, and investment proposals were made involving nearly $15 billion in capital.

He affirmed that the upgrading of the relationship helps raise mutual political trust and enhances the cooperative framework, creating a firm platform for enterprises to operate long-term business on a larger scale and gain more success.

Under the newly-upgraded partnership, cooperation between Vietnam and the RoK will be enhanced and expanded comprehensively in all fields, from politics, external relations, security and defense, economy, trade, and investment, to education, science and technology, and people-to-people exchanges.

These fields will become more practical and fruitful, Minister Son noted, emphasizing that economic, trade, and investment cooperation will continue to be the foundation and driving force of the Vietnam - RoK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The two sides are determined to promote bilateral trade in a stable and balanced manner, remain leading trade partners of each other, and raise two-way trade to $100 billion by 2023 and $150 billion by 2030.

There are more than 1,000 flights conducted between the two countries each month.