Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends 26th ASEAN-South Korea Summit in Malaysia
VGP – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Monday attended the 26th ASEAN-South Korea Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The 26th ASEAN-South Korea Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 27, 2025. Photo: VGP
Addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that ASEAN and South Korea should strengthen coordination in timely responding to challenges to create a favorable environment for sustainable and inclusive development of both sides and to make positive contribution to peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
From that perspective, Pham suggested that ASEAN and South Korea give priority to economic, trade and investment connectivity, kick-off talks on upgrading the ASEAN-South Korea Free Trade Agreement to cover new areas such as green economy, digital economy, intelligence and supply chain.
Prime Minister Pham called on South Korea to promote technology transfer to ASEAN and help the bloc train high-quality human resources.
Pham also suggested ASEAN and South Korea to further deepen cooperation in culture, education, people-to-people exchange and tourism; accelerate the development of heritage economy and innovative industries; and create favorable conditions for ASEAN citizens to learn and work in the Northeast Asian nation.
In addition, ASEAN and South Korea should enhance contributions to peace, security, stability and prosperity in the region; uphold interests and responsibilities for building the East Sea into the sea of peace, cooperation and sustainable development, said the Vietnamese Prime Minister.
He affirmed that Viet Nam supports South Korean Government's efforts to resume dialogue and cooperation with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in order to build an environment of peace, stability and prosperity on the Korean peninsula.
Speaking at the summit, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung affirmed that his country treasures and supports ASEAN centrality and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
Lee promised that South Korea will continue assisting ASEAN in implementing the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement and the ASEAN Power Grid, and in narrowing development gap and enhancing regional connectivity.
South Korea is ASEAN's 5th largest trading partner and 7th biggest investor, with the two way trade and FDI inflows reaching US$208.2 billion and US$7.6 billion, respectively, in 2024./.
