Visit to Korea by Top Leader in 11 Years Highlighted by Vietnamese Media... Calls for Strengthening Science and Technology Cooperation

【Hanoi (Vietnam) = Kim Junseok Correspondent · Bu Thuy Tien Correspondent】 The Korea-Vietnam leaders expressed their intention to deepen the 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP)' through their first summit, receiving positive evaluations within Vietnam. Vietnamese media expect the cooperation between the two countries to deepen strategic exchanges across all areas, including △ politics △ defense and security △ economy △ trade and investment △ tourism △ labor and human exchange. In particular, the Vietnamese media emphasized cooperation in the fields of science, technology, and innovation, reporting that "by pioneering new development directions, it will bring tangible benefits to the people of both countries."
In Vietnam, there is a prospect that the relationship between the two countries will develop into a strategically closer relationship than ever before, as President Lee Jaemyung, who advocates pragmatism, and To Lam, the Communist Party Secretary-General, who is leading reforms comparable to the current 'Second Doi Moi (Reform and Opening)', create synergy in various fields. 
On the 11th, Vietnamese media prominently reported the state visit to Korea by To Lam, the top-ranked Vietnamese Communist Party Secretary-General. Vietnam Plus covered President Lee's and Secretary-General Lam's schedule and summit in Korea, evaluating that "the Korea-Vietnam relationship has achieved remarkable growth since 1992." The media emphasized the development of relations, stating that "trade between Vietnam and Korea has increased exponentially since 1992, and in 2022, Vietnam surpassed Japan to become Korea's third-largest trading partner." Local media prominently reported Secretary-General Lam's statement that "the Korea-Vietnam relationship has become an excellent model of relationship development."
Vietnamese media identified science and technology as the main areas of cooperation between the two countries. Bui Thanh Son, Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, stated in a written interview with Yonhap News on the 10th that "Vietnam is ready to cooperate with Korea to make science and technology cooperation a new pillar of bilateral relations and to shape and develop it." 
The first schedule of Secretary-General Lam's visit to Korea also focused on science and technology. On the first day of his visit to Korea, the 10th, Secretary-General Lam first met with Vietnamese talents in Korea belonging to the 'Vietnam Innovation Network', a group of scientific talents. Secretary-General Lam and Vietnamese scientific talents engaged in extensive discussions on fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), bio, robotics, autonomous driving, aerospace, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). It is reported that Secretary-General Lam asked Vietnamese scientific talents in Korea to serve as a bridge connecting the Korean and Vietnamese scientific communities. 
Meanwhile, expectations for Korea-Vietnam scientific and technological cooperation comparable to the Korea-Vietnam Institute of Science and Technology (VKIST) are rising on the occasion of this summit. Previously, the two countries invested a total of 70 million dollars (about 97 billion 760 million won) in official development assistance (ODA) resources for nearly 10 years since 2014 to open VKIST, Vietnam's largest research and development (R&D) center, modeled after the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), which led Korea's economic development and industrialization, in 2023.

rejune1112@fnnews.com Kim Junseok Reporter, Bu Thuy Tien Correspondent