SEOUL, KOREA - Korean President Park Geun-hye met on October 2 her Vietnamese counterpart Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in the Presidential Palace and reaffirmed both governments' willingness to close the free trade agreement negotiations by the year's end. The two leaders discussed ways for further cooperation and adopted a joint communique on Korean Peninsula denuclearization.

 

General Secretary (Prime Minister) Nguyen made the state visit at the invitation of President Park. This is in return for Park's Vietnam visit in September last year.

 

President Park said in the beginning of the meeting, "Since the opening of diplomatic relations in 1992, the bilateral relationship between Vietnam and South Korea has expanded rapidly, with economic cooperation evolving to a record level. I hope the two countries could keep their relationship as strategic partners by deepening the friendship and trust."

 

The two summits discussed issues such as the quick completion of the FTA talks, participation of Korean contractors in large-scale Vietnamese energy projects, and entry of Korean banks into the Vietnamese financial service market. The two countries have held seven rounds of FTA negotiations since August 2012.