Vietnam and South Korea exchange 12 cooperation documents

On the afternoon of April 22, after talks, the General Secretary and President To Lâm and the President of Korea, Lee Jae Myung, together with their high‑level delegation, witnessed the ceremony for signing and handing over cooperation documents between ministries and agencies of Vietnam and Korea. The set of cooperation documents includes: - Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of security between Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security and the Presidential Security Office of the Republic of Korea. - Memorandum of Understanding on digital cooperation between Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology and Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT. - Framework for the Comprehensive Plan for Vietnam–Korea Cooperation on Science, Technology and Innovation between Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology and Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT. - Memorandum of Understanding on strengthening cooperation in intellectual property between Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology and Korea's Intellectual Property Office. - Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in power infrastructure between Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade and Korea's Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy. - Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in water resources security between Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and Korea's Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment. - Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in animal quarantine between Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and Korea's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. - Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between Vietnam's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for 2026–2030. - Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in underwater heritage between Vietnam's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea's Cultural Heritage Administration. - Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in food safety, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and medical devices between Vietnam's Ministry of Health and Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. - Memorandum on cooperation for the development of a nuclear power plant between PetroVietnam (PVN) and Korea's KEPCO. - Memorandum on financial cooperation for nuclear power project development between PVN, KEPCO, Korea Eximbank (KEXIM) and KSURE. Over the years, economic and commercial cooperation has been a central pillar of Vietnam–Korea relations. In 2025, bilateral trade reached USD 89.5 billion, up 9.6% from 2024. In the first three months of 2026, total Vietnam–Korea trade reached USD 26.9 billion, up 30% year on year. By the end of March 2026, Korea remained Vietnam’s largest investor among 154 investing countries, with registered capital totaling USD 98.9 billion across 10,447 projects, accounting for more than 23% of projects and 18% of total registered foreign direct investment in Vietnam, concentrated in key sectors such as manufacturing processing, high technology, electronics, automobiles and auto parts, construction, and real estate. Korean investment is concentrated in Bac Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Dong Nai, and Thai Nguyen... Korea is Vietnam’s top investment partner; the second-largest source of inbound tourists; the second-largest source of official development assistance (ODA); the third-largest trading partner; and the third-largest source of labor in Vietnam. Read more