On the afternoon of Tuesday, March 10, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun held a phone call with Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung and discussed ways to develop Korea-Vietnam bilateral relations as well as the situation in the Middle East.

They highly appreciated that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Korea and Vietnam has been further strengthened since the launch of the new Korean government last year. Taking the formation of Vietnam’s new leadership this year as an opportunity, they agreed to actively continue high-level exchanges and to further develop the special relationship between the two countries.

In particular, they shared concerns about the recent situation in the Middle East. They also agreed that amid growing external uncertainties, Korea and Vietnam, as each other’s third-largest trading partners, should further enhance cooperation to expand trade and investment and stabilize supply chains.

Minister Cho requested Vietnam’s continued cooperation to address difficulties faced by Korean companies operating in Vietnam. Minister Trung expressed his willingness to cooperate and hoped that bilateral trade and Korean companies’ investment in Vietnam would further expand.