Hanoi, April 24, 2026 – The Europe Today: Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng has called for Việt Nam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) to elevate their bilateral partnership from traditional investment ties to a forward-looking collaboration focused on jointly shaping the future.
The remarks were made during a roundtable on Việt Nam–RoK economic, trade, and investment cooperation, held as part of the Việt Nam–RoK Economic Forum in Hà Nội on Thursday. The event was attended by Korean President Lee Jae Myung and brought together leaders from 26 major corporations across sectors including energy, finance, technology, manufacturing, infrastructure, and aviation. Prominent participants included Samsung Electronics, LG Corp, Lotte Group, and Hyundai Motor Group.
Highlighting the strong trajectory of bilateral relations over 34 years of diplomatic ties, Prime Minister Hưng noted that economic and trade cooperation remains a cornerstone of the partnership. The RoK currently stands as Việt Nam’s largest foreign investor, second-largest source of tourists and official development assistance (ODA), and third-largest trading partner. Bilateral trade reached $89.5 billion in 2025, while cumulative Korean investment totaled $98.9 billion across more than 10,400 projects as of March 2026.
The Prime Minister urged businesses from both countries to intensify dialogue, propose practical solutions, and collaborate closely with authorities to remove bottlenecks and unlock new opportunities. He emphasized that Việt Nam is entering a new phase of development focused on rapid and sustainable growth, driven by science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation.
He further outlined the country’s strategic priorities, including institutional reform, infrastructure development, and human resource enhancement, alongside a transition toward higher value-added production. In this context, he underscored the central role of the private sector and the importance of international partnerships, particularly with the RoK, in achieving transformative growth.
Calling for deeper engagement, Prime Minister Hưng encouraged Korean enterprises to expand high-quality investments in sectors such as high technology, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and clean energy. He also stressed the need to boost technology transfer, develop research and development ecosystems, and strengthen linkages with local firms to enhance competitiveness and global integration. He reaffirmed the Vietnamese government’s commitment to fostering a transparent, stable, and predictable investment environment.
President Lee Jae Myung, in his remarks, highlighted growing global economic uncertainties and stressed the importance of closer Việt Nam–RoK cooperation. He expressed confidence in the strong complementarities between the two economies, noting that Việt Nam’s position as a global manufacturing hub, combined with the RoK’s advanced industrial capabilities, offers significant potential for building resilient and future-oriented value chains.
With bilateral trade targeted to reach $150 billion by 2030, President Lee called for deeper collaboration in manufacturing and expansion into advanced sectors such as semiconductors and electric vehicles. He also emphasized the importance of strengthening supply chain connectivity in strategic resources, including rare earths and urea.
The Korean leader further advocated for the development of resilient cooperation frameworks to mitigate external shocks, alongside investments in high-efficiency energy infrastructure such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and nuclear power, as well as broader infrastructure development.
Both leaders underscored the pivotal role of the business community in driving the next phase of bilateral cooperation, expressing confidence that enhanced collaboration will generate new growth momentum and strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between Việt Nam and the Republic of Korea.
