ASEAN, South Korea establish comprehensive strategic partnership

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Thursday attended the 25th ASEAN-Korea Summit to commemorate the 35th anniversary of dialogue relations held in Vientiane, Laos.

The summit was also attended by the ASEAN Leaders or their representatives, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn. Timor-Leste attended as Observer.

The leaders to the summit adopted a Joint Statement on the Establishment of ASEAN-South Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) that is meaningful, substantive and mutually beneficial. 

The leaders also reviewed the achievements of ASEAN-Korea dialogue relations and discussed its future direction under the newly-launched CSP.

South Korea is the 5th largest trading partner of ASEAN, with the two-way trade reaching nearly US$196.64 billion in 2023.

The Northeast Asian nation is the 6th biggest foreign investor in ASEAN, with FDI flows to the bloc amounting to US$11 billion last year.

.Addressing the event, Pham welcomed the upgrade of ASEAN-Korea relations and put foward major orientations for bilateral cooperation in the time ahead.

First of all, ASEAN and South Korea need to make greater contributions to peace, security, stability and prosperity in the region, said Pham.

He welcomed South Korea's continued support for ASEAN's principled stance on the East Sea issue and the bloc's efforts to build the East Sea into a region of peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development.

ASEAN stands ready to coordinate with relevant parties to push for dialogues towards long-lasting peace and stability on the nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, Pham said.

Secondly, Pham called on ASEAN and South Korea to further boost economic cooperation, with a focus on connecting economies and enhancing cooperation in culture, tourism and education and training.

Trade and investment cooperation needs to be promoted in a more balanced and sustainable manner, he noted.

He urged both sides to make full use of the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Area (AKFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement while speeding up the formulation of mechanisms for promoting bilateral cooperation.

Thirdly, he called on both sides to take more drastic actions to foster inclusive, comprehensive and sustainable development through expanding cooperation to new fronts such as innovation, high technology, renewable energy, digital transformation, green transition, climate change, semiconductor, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and Internet of Things.

The Vietnamese leader also called for accelerating Mekong-Korea partnership in a bid to help narrow the development gap and ensure sustainable development in the region./.